UC-NI 


B    3    1Mb    Shi 


PRACTICAL'  TREATISE 


•FRUIT  TREES; 


DESCRIPTIVE  LISTS 

OF    THE   MOST   VALUABLE 

FRUITS  FOR  GENERAL  CULTIVATION 

AD.'.  PTED    TO    THF, 

. 

INTERIOR  OF  KEW  E; 
BY    G-30SG3    JAQUES. 


Every  Clymat  hath  its  ovvne  fruit,  far  i^fieren1 
Other  countries.     GEKARDK,  in  1597. 

>se  fruits  which  succeed  perfection  one  section  of  the 
country,  are  sometimes  ill  ad:  her. 

DOWNING,  in  ISto. 


WORCESTER: 

ERASTUS    N,    TUCKER. 

1  84  9. 


REESE    LIBRARY 

.     OF    THK 

UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

Received—          ..JU^L^^^^ic 
Accessions  No££4$.&~.       Shelf  No... 


A 

PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

ON   Ttit   MANAGEMENT   OF 

FRUIT    TREES; 


DESCRIPTIVE   LISTS 

OF   TrfE   MOSt    VALUABLE 

FRUITS    FOR  GENERAL  CULTIVATION  ; 

ADAPTED    tO   THE 

i»t*arit 

INTERIOR  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


BY    GEORGE    JAQUES- 

jgfW^ 

Every  Clymat  jiRK^jVowne  fruit,  far  different  firQpi  that  of  other 
countries.  GE^ARDE,  in  1597. 

Those  fruits  which  succeed  perfectly  in  one  section  of  the  country, 
are  sometimes  HI  adapted  to  another.  DOWNING,  in  1845. 


WORCESTER: 

ERASTUS    N.    TUCKER. 

1849. 


J  ^  1 T  AS  I!  T  JAOIT3  Afll 


Entered  according    to  Act    of   Congress,  in    the   year    1849, 

BY  ERASTUS  N.  TUCKER, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 

*£-**<> 

WAT.    10    g 


WORCESTER: 
BENJ.  J.  UODGK,  PRINTER,  PALI  ADICM  OFFICE, 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE, 

INTRODUCTION,         -(  _•  *""M  '*  •  •  9 

PART  1. 

OF    THE    GENERAL    CULTIVATION    OF    FRUIT    TREES. 

CHAPTER  1.— Production  of  a  New  Variety  of  Fruit,        -  Ib 

Section  I.    Sowing  Selected  Seeds,       -  18 

"      2.    Sowing  Hybridized  Seeds,        -  21 

CHAPTER  II. — Multiplication  of  a  Variety,  24 

Section  1.    Direct  Mode  of  Multiplying,  by 

Dividing  the  Original  Tree,  25 

1.  Suckers,       -      T-~.»        -  25 

2.  Cuttings  and  Layers,      -  26 
***»  •    2.    Indirect  Mode  of  Multiplying, 

by  Grafting  from  the  Original 
r   ,;.,      into  Other  Trees,    -  -      30 

1.  Scion-Grafting,  -  -  35 

2.  Bud -Grafting,          -  -      45 

3.  Position  of  the  Graft  upon 

the  Stock,         -  -      51 

CHAPTER  III.— Stocks  for  Grafting,  54 


PACE. 

CHAPTER  IV.— Transplanting         -           *           -           *  59 

Section  1.    Trees  of  Small  Size,         -  64 

"      2.        "      "  Medium  Size,           -  66 

"      3.        "      «  Large  Si?e,  73 

CHAPTER  V.-*-Pruning,        -                                              *  76 

1.  To  improve  the   Growth  and 

Form  of  a  Tree,           <•  77 

2.  To  induce  Fruitfulness,          -  80 

CHAPTER  VI.— -Training,           -  84 

CHAPTER  VII.-,Miscellane<wis,      -                                   -  90 

Section  1.    Purchasing,  Packing,  Forward- 
ing, and  Receiving  Trees, 

Grafts,  &c.  &c.  -            -  90 

"  2.  Soils,  Manures,  Location  of  Or- 
chards, Position  of  Trees, 
Trees  in  Grass^ground,  Fruit  • 

ing,  &c.  &c.       -           -  97 

<<       3.    Insects,  Diseases,  Remedies,  &c.  108 

*•'      4.    Implements,  Materials  etc.  used 

in  the  Nursery  and  Orchard,  113 

"       5.    The  Nursery  Business,        -  118 

ja'f      6.    The  Orchard  Businesa,  -           ,  124 

.-  ••••'. M' 
PART   II,     / 

OF   THE    CULTIVATION    OF   THE    SEVERAL    SPECIES  OF    FRUIT 
TREES. 

.  .(J  ~S*>. 

PRELIMINARY  REMARKS,         «           -,           •,           -  139 

CHAPTER  I.— -The  Apple,    -       |   -t         -                        -  146 

Section  I.     Standard  Apple  Trees,         -  148 

1.  Cultivation,  &c.      -            -  151 

2.  Descriptive  Lists  of  Apples,  152 
Sections.    Dwarf  Apple  Trees.     -           -  158 

"      3,    Insects,    Diseases,    Remedies, 

Bearing  Year,  &c.  -            -  160 
«        4.    Gathering  and  Ripening  the  Ap. 

pie,                        .           -  168 

«        5.    Uses  of  the  Apple,      ,           -  171 


CHAPTER  II.— -The  Pear,           -           •      '*t*'X*  '       -  176 

Section  1.     Standard  Pear  Trees,    -            -  178 

1.  Cultivation,  &c.              -  180 

2,  Descriptive   Lists  of  Pears, 

for  cultivation  on  Stand- 
ard trees            -            -  182 
«       2.    Dwarf  Pear  Trees,  -            -  188 

1.  Root-Pruned  Dwarfs,          -  189 

2.  Quince-Bottomed  Dwarfs,  191 
"      3.    Insects,  Diseases  and  Remedies,  200 
''      4.    Gathering  and  Ripening  the  Pear, 

and  Uses  of  the  Fruit,  -  203 

CHAPTER  III.— The  Peach  and  the  Nectarine     '•           •  207 

Section  1.    Cultivation,^.    .<-.  "."       .  ;»  207 

"       2.    Descriptive  Lists  of  Peaches,  -  215 

CHAPTER  IV.— The  Cherry,       -                                   -  219 

1.  Cultivation,  &c.       • "         -  220 

2.  Descriptive  Lists  of  Cherries,  223 

CHAPTER  V.— The  Quince,                   •  >-                     -  225 

CHAPTER VI.— The  Plum,        '.*    r  *  «,                   •  227 

CHAPTER  VII.— The  Grape,                                    -           -  232 

CHAPTER  VIII.— The  Apricot,  -       ,#.$.4                 '  236 

CHAPTER  IX.— Nuts,        -                                             -  238 

CHAPTER     X.— Berry*Fruits,                                             .  241 

Section  1.    The  Strawberry,      -           .  241 

1.  Cultivation,  &c.            -  241 

2,  Varieties,  Uses,  <fcc.  of  the 

Fruit,  &c.     -            -  247 

Section  2.    The  Currant,     -       .,',".        -  251 

"       3.    The  Gooseberry,      -          '.  254 

"       4.    The  Raspberry,         ^^       .  555 


OBI 


,.;•«». 


.-,*>>• 


. 

• 


;J-T'<  ' 


iggg •'   ^  ' — 

'jy^g    „  t~. 

« ''''•  *&• 

US'    •     '«-  •  v     -i 

•^ 

??«*•       .  - 


PREFACE 


i  16  «9o-j«e«i  x*^ 

HAVING  waited  a  long  while,  in  the  hope  that  some 
one  better  qualified  for  the  work,  might  be  induced  to 
furnish  the  fruit-cultivators  of  Interior  New  England 
with  a  treatise  such  as  their  local  wants  demand,  I 
have  at  length  ventured  upon  the  undertaking  myself. 

A  book  of  this  kind  is  so  greatly  needed,  to  guide  the 
operations  of  a  large  and  increasing  class  of  our  citizens 
that  even  comparative  incompetency  may  not  have  labor- 
ed upon  it  in  vain. 

If  there  are  pears  which  ripen  finely  at  Saltm,  but 
will  not  succeed  in  Boston  ;  if  the  climates  of  Western 
New  York  and  the  shores  of  the  Hudson  differ  so  widely, 
as  to  affect  the  quality  of  several  varieties  of  different 
species  of  fruits,  one  might  easily  infer  —  what  it  has  cost 
the  writer  something  to  learn  —  that  whoever  would  suc- 
ceed with  fruit-trees,  in  the  hill-country  of  the  eastern 
states,  may  rely  with  tolerable  safety  upon  the  uncertain 
testimony  cf  his  own  neighborhood,  while  the  profoundest 
wisdom  that  has  ever  recorded  the  experience  of  other 
countries,  would  only  mislead  and  bewilder. 

I  have  endeavored  to  make  my  book  what  its  title  in- 
dicates. My  Lists  of  Fruits  have  been  carefully  prepar- 


8 


ed,  in  honesty  and  in  truth,  and  not  with  the  mean  sel- 
fishness that  would  thus  advertise  the  worthless  trash  of 
a  worn-out  nursery.  Should  this  little  work  in  any  in- 
stance disappoint  expectation,  I  shall  deeply  regret,  that 
the  best  intentions  have  failed  here  through  inability, 
while,  elsewhere,  those  better  qualified  to  instruct  have 
sometimes  written  with  other  prayers  than  for  the  success 
of  their  disciples. 
My  sources  of  information  have  been, — 

1.  Nearly  eight  years  experience  in  the  cultivation  of 
nursery  and  orchard  trees,  chiefly  by  the  labor  of  my 
own  hands. 

2.  A  close  observation  of  the  management  of  nurseries 
and  orchards,  in  this  vicinity  and  in  other  places,  for  the 
last  ten  years. 

3.  A  careful- inspection  of  the  very  instructive  Exhibi- 
tions of  the  Worcester  Co.  Horticultural  Society,  from  its 
formation  to  the  present  time. 

4.  Personal  interviews  and  correspondence  with  several 
of  the*  most  distinguished  horticulturists  in  this  section 
of  the  country. 

5.  An  attentive  perusal  of  almost  all  the  agricultural 
and  horticultural  publications  that  have  been  issued,  par- 
ticularly in  the  northern  and  eastern  states,  during  the 
last  twelve  years.  G.  J. 

Worcester,  March,  1849. 


•aNt 


01 


INTRODUCTION. 


_ 

!»  r'.o    •  '  ;          ~ 

"  But  forward  in  the  name  of  God,  graffe,  set,  plant  and  nomrish 
up  trees  in  every  corner  of  your  grounds,  the  labour  is  small, 
the  cost  is  nothing,  the  commoditie  is  great,  yourselves  shall  have 
plenty,  the  poore  shall  have  somewhat  in  lime  of  want  to  relieve 
their  necessitie,  and  God  shall  reward  your  good  mindes  and  dili- 
gence." 

So  wrote  the  enthusiastic  Gerarde,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago,  and  surely  no  better  advice  can  be  given  to  the  land-owners 
of  New  England  at  the  present  time*.  For,  when  it  is  taken  into 
consideration,  that  the  soil  and  climate  of  this  section  of  the 
country  are  most  admirably  adapted  to  orchard  cultivation,  that 
the  New  England  apples  are  among  the  finest  flavored  of  any 
grown  in  the  world,  that  the  home  market  for  fruit  never  has 
been,  and  that  the  foreign  market  probably  never  can  be  supplied, 
one  must  admit  that  nothing  is  apparently  more  feasible,  than  to 
make  the  lands  of  Worcester  county  and  other  sections  of  the 
eastern  states  far  more  valuable  than  the  most  productive  wheat- 
fields  of  the  west,  or  the  richest  cotton-grounds  of  the  south,  so 
that  the  ruddy-cheeked  Baldwin  apple  and  the  d'Aremberg  pear 
may  take  their  easily  attainable  rank  among  our  chief  articles  of 
exportation. 

While,  therefore,  so  many  mills  compel  each  little  rivulet  to 
b 


10 


earn  and  re-earn  its  passage  to  the  ocean ;  and  while  that  ocean 
continues  to  bear  our  surplus  wealth  to  every  distant  clime,  let  no 
planter  of  an  orchard  anticipate  a  want  of  purchasers  for  whatev- 
ever  fruits  he  may  wish  to  spare  from  his  trees.  And  even  upon 
a  smaller  scale,  the  farmer  who  consults  economy  or  regards  the 
happiness  of  his  family,  will  never  regret  the  labor  whicli  can 
so  easily  spread  upon  his  table  an  abundance  of  the  various 
fruits  of  the  successive  seasons. 

There  is  a  pleasure  too  in  these  pursuits,  from  which  unlike 
all  other  earthly  pleasures  its  votaries  never  turn  aside  with  sa- 
tiety or  disgust.  Our  most  endearing  associations,  our  most  re- 
fined perceptions  of  the  beautiful,  are  connected  with  fruit  and 
other  gardens.  Horticulture,  says  Sir  Wm.  Temple,  has  been 
the  inclination  of  kings,  and  the  choice  of  philosophers.  The 
Prince  de  Ligne  after  sixty  years'  experience,  affirms  that  the 
love  of  gardens  is  the  only  passion  which  augments  with  age. 

Something  also  may  be  urged  in  favor  of  the  moral  tendency 
of  the  occupation,  since  as  the  latter  writer  finely  observes.  "  it 
seems  impossible  that  a  wicked  man  should  possess  a  taste  for  it."* 

There  are  those  who  will  say — "all  this  reads  pretty  well ;  yet 
we  ourselves  are  too  old  to  reap  the  profits,  to  learn  the  pleasures, 
or  to  experience  the  moral  influences  of  which  you  speak."  "Too 
old  ?"  Why,  with  proper  selection  and  careful  cultivation,  your 
trees  will  render  you  valuable  returns  in  even  less  than  six 
years  from  the  time  you  put  them  out. 

Says  J.  J.  Thomas,  "  A  Bartlett  pear-tree,  six  feet  high,  and 
two  years  from  transplanting,  bore  a  peck  of  superb  fruit.  An 
apple  tree,  removed  to  the  orchard  when  not  larger  than  a  car- 

*  II  me  semble  qu'll  est  impossible  q'un  tnechant  puisse  1'  avoir. 


11 

.•> 

riage-whip,  produced  a  bushel  the  fifth  year."  We  have  our- 
self  a  Hubbardston  Nonesuch  apple-tree  which,  in  the  third 
year  from  the  nursery  and  the  tenth  from  the  seed,  bore  us 
a  half  bushel  of  splendid  fruit ;  and  the  next  year  it  produced 
nearly  a  bushel.  Peaches,  plums,  and  cherries  begin  to  show 
fruit  the  second  year  from  the  nursery,  and  frequently  the  for- 
mer two  produce  large  crops  in  less  than  fire  years. 

"  Too  old  I  "  Rather  say  too  lucky,  that  your  father  did  not 
make  the  same  plea,  when  planting  the  trees  of  which  you  first 
eat  in  childhood. 

"  Too  old  !  "  Admit  it, — must  we  also  understand  then  that  you 
are  a\so  too  mean  to  pay  to  posterity  what  you  owe  to  those  who 
have  gone  before  you  ?  Selfish  man!  Plant  trees,  plant  trees. 
No  matter  whether  or  not  you  may  eat  thereof  yourself.  The 
fruit  will  afford  another  just  as  much  pleasure  as  it  would  you. 
Plant  trees — "  forward  in  the  name  of  God."  plant  trees,  and  it 
»hall  cheer  the  useless  hours  of  old  age  to  remember,  that  in 
your  day  and  generation  you  did  something,  even  so  little,  to 
leave  the  world  better,  or  at  least  no  worse,  than  you  found  it. 

The  subject-matter  upon  which  this  little  work  is  designed  to 
treat,  seems  to  us  worthy  the  attention  of  all  land-owners  who 
look  to  pecuniary  profit,  healthful  recreation,  and  favorable  mor- 
al influences,  or  who  feel  disposed  to  leave  to  posterity  some- 
thing of  as  goodly  a  heritage  as  former  generations  may  have  be- 
queathed to  them. 

But  the  limits  of  a  work,  practical  as  this  purports  to  be,  do 
not  admit  of  further  reflections  of  this  kind.  Let  us  proceed  at 
once  to  those  enquiries  which  may  serve  to  direct  the  hand  of 
future  labor. 

"  Aliens  mes  amis,  il  faut  cuHiver  nos  fruitier^'' 


•#* 

,  w  «k  .  **   :      "i  .  ;•  iv  •  i*    . 


r   at*  -ft    ;*-»  * 

«tlu»V 

•'•  ipj" 


-.4    .bf^<«ll*l<fi'»  »i  -i 


• 

$...,  i 


•-  ar; 

i;.,  ,  :^,.    .  . 

s» 


UI7EESITY 


OP  THE  GENERAL  CULTIVATION  OF 
FRUIT  TREES. 


CHARTER    I. 

PRODUCTION  OF  A  NEW  VARIETY  OF  FRUIT. 

OF  the  vegetable  no  less  than  of  the  animal 
kingdom,  it  is  a  law  to  which  there  are  few 
exceptions,  that,  in  their  native  wilds  uncon- 
trolled by  man,  the  different  species  exactly 
reproduce  themselves. 

The  process  of  change  commences  with  the 
generations  raised  in  a  domesticated  state. 

Some  plants,  indeed,  and  animals  also  seem 
not  to  be  susceptible  of  the  ameliorating  influ- 
ences of  human  care.  But  almost  all  the 
really  useful  species  are  easily  brought  into  a 
state  of  domestication.  When  once  the  artifi- 
cial treatment  of  culture  is  applied,  the  artifi- 
cial product  of  varieties  is  the  result.  The 
seeds,  for  example,  of  the  common  field- 
strawberry,  sown  in  the  garden,  will  produce 
fruit  differing  from  that  of  the  parent-plant 
and  also  from  each  other.  The  product  from 
sowing  the  seeds  of  these  will  be  still  more 


16 

varied,  and  so  on  with  each  successive  cul- 
tivated generation. 

And  not  only  does  cultivation  originate  but 
it  sustains  our  fine  varieties  of  fruit;  for  ex- 
perience has  rendered  it  highly  probable 
that,  but  for  the  fostering  hand  of  man,  these 
would,  in  the  course  of  a  few  generations,  rap- 
idly degenerate  into  a  comparatively  limited 
number  of  wild  fruits. 

And  here  we  will  digress  a  moment  to  state 
a  truth  which  lies  among  the  foundations  of 
horticultural  science — that  it  is  as  absurd  for 
o  man  to  talk  of  the  natural  treatment  of  a 
garden  fruit-tree,  as  of  the  natural  treatment 
of  his  artificial  Durham  cow  or  of  his  own 
yet  more  artificial  self;  for  a  fine  fruit-tree  is 
the  combined  product  of  nature  and  art,  and 
nature  and  art  must  both  take  care  of  it,  or  it 
dies. 

We  shall  not  attempt  to  explain  v)hy  the 
effect  of  cultivation  should  be  to  produce  va- 
rieties. Perhaps  the  tendency  to  accidental 
hybridization  is  thereby  greatly  increased. 
Perhaps  the  influences  of  grafting,  being  almost 
always  combined  with  those  of  cultivation, 
may  be  to  break  up  the  natural  course  of  re- 


17 


production.  Certain  it  is,  and  sufficient  for 
our  purpose,  that  the  fact  exists. 

All  varieties  of  plants  and  fruits,  good  or 
bad,  originate  from  the  seed. 

There  are  two  distinct  modes  of  producing 
them  in  use  among  cultivators — 1st,  by  sow- 
ing selected  seeds;  2d,  by  sowing  hybridized 
seeds. 


SECTION    I. 

SOWING  SELECTED  SEEDS. 

THE  laws  regulating  this  mode  of  reproduc- 
tion are  not  well  understood.  Of  a  thousand 
apple-trees  raised  from  seeds  of  some  fine  va- 
riety— say  the  Baldwin — and  grown  to  a  fruit- 
bearing  age,  probably  not  one  would  show  a 
fruit  equal  to  the  original ;  and  while  the  num- 
ber of  varieties  thus  produced  might  equal  the 
w.hole  number  of  the  trees,  perhaps  not  three 
out  of  the  whole  would  be  found  worthy  of 
cultivation.  Some  of  the  trees  would  bear 
small  fruit,  others  large ;  some  fair,  some 
knurly;  some  sweet,  others  subacid,  sour  or 
bitter;  some  would  ripen  their  fruit  early, 
others  would  retain  theirs  until  the  frosts  and 
winds  of  Autumn  should  scatter  them  upon 
the  ground.  Little  therefore  can  be  hoped 
from  this  chance  sowing  of  selected  seeds. 
Other  circumstances  must  govern  the  choica 
of  seeds,  beside  the  mere  qualities  of  the  fruit 
from  which  they  may  be  taken. 


19 

Professor  Van  Mons,  after  devoting  nearly 
his  whole  life  to  these  pursuits,  came  to  results 
which  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows  : 

THEORY  OF  VAN  MONS. 

The  design  of  nature  is  to  produce  a  heal- 
thy plant  capable  of  furnishing  seeds  for  con- 
tinuing the  species. 

The  object  of  cultivation  (or  rather  domes- 
tication.) is  to  turn  the  energies  of  nature  from 
this  end  to  the  enlargement  of  the  size  and  im- 
provement of  the  flavor  of  the  fruit  containing 
the  seeds. — that  is,  so  far  as  the  vigor  and  ro- 
bust health  of  the  tree  is  affected,  it  is  an  enfee- 
bling process. 

To  carry  forward  this  enfeebling  work,  sel- 
ect your  seeds  from  a  young  tree  of  a  garden, 
not  a  wild  variety,  gathering  the  fruit  before 
it  is  fully  ripe,  and  suffering  the  seeds  to  re- 
main in  it  until  it  is  decayed.  The  words 
just  italicised  indicate  four  sources  of  ener- 
vating the  breed,  (if  this  latter  term  is  allow- 
able.) 

The  trees  from  these  seeds  should  be  root- 
pruned  and  branch- pruned,  on  purpose  to 
enfeeble  and  stunt  their  growth ;  and,  in  order 


20 

that  there  should  be  no  contamination  from 
other  breeds,  they  should  be  allowed  to  bear 
their  fruit  upon  their  own  roots. 

From  these  trees  select  seeds  as  before, 
plant,  prune  and  re-select  seeds,  and  so  on, 
until  in  about  the  fifth  generation  for  pears, 
the  fourth  for  apples,  and  the  third  or  second 
for  stone  fruits  and  other  shorter  lived  species  ; 
the  seedlings  will  nearly  all  become  of  great 
excellence.  The  point  of  perfectioh  once  at- 
tained, a  further  continuance  of  the  process 
will  result  in  a  retrograde  movement  toward 
the  original  wild  state  of  the  plant. 

This  theory  seems  to  be  founded  in  reason, 
although  facts  stubborn  and  numerous  exist 
in  opposition  to  it.  Indeed,  the  principles 
which  govern  the  reproduction  of  plants  from 
the  seed,  are  still  very  imperfectly  understood. 

It  will  easily  occur  to  the  reader,  that  acci- 
dental causes  have  placed  within  reach  of  the 
American  cultivator  abundant  materials  in  all 
stages  of  progress  for  the  mode  of  reproduc- 
tion which  originated  with  Van  Mons. 

We  come  now  to  the  far  more  certain,  direct 
and  scientific  mode  of  originating  fruits. 


SECTION    II. 


SOWING  HYBRIDIZED  SEEDS. 

HYBRIDIZED  seeds  are  those  contained  in 
fruits  which  have  been  originated,  by  fertiliz- 
ing the  stigma  of  the  flower  of  one  tree  with 
the  pollen  of  another  of  different  though  near- 
ly allied  characters;  for,  like  grafting,  the 
process  cannot  be  extended  beyond  certain 
comparatively  narrow  limits.  A  fruit  pro- 
duced by  this  cross  fecundation,  usually  pos- 
sesses properties  intermediate  between  those  of 
its  parents  ;  and  the  seedlings  from  such  a 
fruit,  although  they  may  slightly  differ  among 
themselves,  will  all  bear  fruits  partaking  of  the 
mixed  characters  of  the  fruits  of  the  two 
parent  trees. 

Strictly  speaking,  a  hybrid  or  mule  plant  or 
fruit  is  the  product  of  two  different  though 
nearly  allied  species;  a  cross-bred  plant  or 
fruit  is  a  sub-variety  originating  from  two  va- 
rieties of  the  same  species. 

We  have  said  that  the  field  of  hybridizing, 


22 


like  that  of  grafting,  is  hemmed  in  by  narrow 
limits. 

Indeed  the  laws  of  hybridizing  in  the  vege- 
table and  in  the  animal  world  are  similar, 
though  less  stringent  in  the  former  than  in  the 
latter.  We  must  therefore  expect  to  find  the 
seeds  of  cross-bred  plants  sometimes  sterile, 
and  those  of  mules  or  hybrid  plants  almost 
always  so,  or  becoming  so  in  the  second  or 
third  generations.  And  therefore  our  two  dis- 
tinct modes  of  producing  seedlings  cannot  be 
combined  to  any  great  extent,  even  were  it 
desirable. 

This  art  of  hybridizing  has  scarcely  been 
known  above  half  a  century,  and  its  utility 
is  as  yet  probably  not  at  all  appreciated  as  it 
will  be  hereafter. 

Some  of  the  results  which  have  been  and 
may  be  produced,  are — among  Flowers,  great- 
er hardihood,  change  of  time  of  flowering,  im- 
proved odors,  increased  size,  more  beautiful 
colors,  &c. — among  Fruits,  and  Vegetables, 
almost  every  desirable  improvement  of  size, 
flavor,  time  of  ripening,  productiveness,  &c. — 
among  Timber -trees,  more  rapid  and  larger 
growth,  superior  toughness  and  strength, 
compactness,  &c. 


23 


In  conclusion,  we  may  say  that  the  busi- 
ness of  producing  new  varieties  of  fruits,  as 
well  as  of  improved  breeds  of  animals,  should 
be  required  at  the  hands  of  men  of  wealth  and 
leisure,  and  ought  hardly  to  be  attempted  by 
persons  of  humble  means  and  limited  re- 
sources. But  better  still,  were  a  part  of  the 
revenue  of  a  state  or  a  nation  judiciously  and 
wisely  expended  in  this  way,  the  result* 
would  richly  repay  the  outlay. 


CHAPTER    II. 

' 

MULTIPLICATION  OF  A  VARIETY. 

ONCE  in  possession  of  a  fine  variety  of  fruit, 
a  benevolent  man  would  be  anxious  to  know- 
how  its  existence  might  be  perpetuated,  and 
the  number  of  trees  of  it  indefinitely  multi- 
plied. Indeed,  without  any  very  urgent 
promptings  of  benevolence,  the  fortunate  re- 
cipient, in  Pomona's  lottery,  of  such  a  prize 
as  the  Esopus  Spitzenburg  apple,  the  Para- 
dise tfAutomne  pear,  or  the  like,  might  natu- 
rally enough  be  solicitous  to  increase  the 
number  of  trees  of  it,  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
Since  these  objects  cannot  be  obtained  by 
sowing  the  seeds  of  the  fruit,  as  we  have 
already  stated,  we  must  resort  to  the  only  two 
other  methods  left  us, — 1st,  That  of  dividing 
the  original  tree ;  2d,  That  of  grafting  buds 
or  scions  from  the  original  into  other  trees. 


•fc 

v 


SECTION    I. 

DIRECT  MODE  OF  MULTIPLYING,  BY  DIVIDING  THE 
ORIGINAL  TREE. 

THERE  are  two  specifically  different  modes 
of  accomplishing  this.  The  first  mode  is  by 
Suckers  :  the  second,  by  Cuttings  and  Layers. 

I.       SUCKERS. 

A  sucker  is  a  portion  of  a  tree  growing  up 
from  the  root  or  from  a  portion  of  the  trunk 
which  is  below  tho  surface  of  the  soil.  By 
digging  down  carefully  and  cutting  it  off  with 
a  portion  of  the  root  attached,  and  setting  it 
out  at  the  proper  season  of  transplanting,  it 
will  become  a  tree  of  itself.  It  will  not,  how- 
ever, possess  so  thrifty  and'vigorous  a  habit 
as  that  of  its  parent,  —  although  suckers  some- 
times do  make  very  handsome  trees.  Another 
objection  to  suckers  .  is,  that  they  have  a 
strong  disposition  to  waste  their  energies  in 
generating  other  suckers.  Still  a  third  objec- 


26 

tion  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  are  very  apt  to 
retain  whatever  diseases  or  infirmities  infect 
the  tree  from  which  they  may  be  taken. 
Whether  therefore  for  fruit-bearing  purposes 
or  as  stocks  for  grafting,  they  are  in  general 
by  no  means  especial  favorites  with  the  care- 
ful and  judicious  cultivator.  Exceptions  must, 
however,  be  made  in  favor  of  the  Vine,  the 
Quince,  and  a  very  few  other  fruit-bearing 
plants,  which  will  be  noticed  in  their  proper 
place. 

H.       CUTTINGS  AND  LAYERS. 

A  cutting  is  a  bud.  or  a  twig  (containing 
two  or  more  buds)  of  the  previous  season's 
growth,  cut  from  a  tree.  This  being  planted, 
if  a  twig,  partly,  and,  if  a  bud,  wholly  under 
ground,  will,  under  favorable  circumstances, 
take  root  and  itself  become  a  tree. 

It  is  possible  with  proper  care  to  multiply 
all  fruit  trees  and  shrubs  in  this  way.  But, 
practically,  this  mode  is  chiefly  confined  to  the 
Vine,  the  Quince,  the  Currant,  the  Gooseberry 
and  a  very  few  others. 

Twig-cuttings  should  be  cut  and  set  early 
in  the  Spring.  They  should  be  separated 
from  the  tree  at  the  point  between  the  last  and 


27 

the  previous  season's  growth;  the  tip  end 
should  be  cut  off  so  as  to  leave  them  from 
eight  to  fourteen  inches  long.  When  planted, 
from  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  of  their  length 
should  be  under  ground,  and  the  soil  should 
be  pressed  hard  about  the  lower  end.  Mulch- 
ing, or  covering  the  ground  with  straw  so  as 
nearly  to  hide  them  from  sight,  is  an  excellent 
mode  of  assisting  nature  in  this  work.  Plant- 
ing also  in  a  shady  place  answers  a  similar 
purpose. 

When  it  is  desirable  that  the  cutting  should 
make  a  tree-like  growth  without  throwing 
up  suckers,  all  the  eyes  in  the  part  put  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground  should  be  cut  out. 

Bud-cuttings,  or  those  containing  but  a  sin- 
gle eye  or  bud,  should  be  planted  abaut  an 
inch  deep  in  the  ground  at  the  same  time  with 
twig-cuttings.  The  Chinese  Multicaulis  and 
some  varieties  of  foreign  Grapes  are  raised  in 
this  way.  In  propagating  by  cuttings,  the 
chances  of  success  are  greatly  increased  by 
the  application  of  underground  heat.  This 
mode  is  much  practiced  with  plant  cuttings 
in  green-houses. 

It  should  be  understood,  however,  that  a 
strict  compliance  with  these  rules  is  not 


always  necessary ;  for  cuttings  often  succeed 
when  cut  and  planted  in  the  most  careless 
manner.  For  instance,  with  herbaceous  cut- 
tings, an  unskilful  hand  at  the  hoe  in  a  cloudy 
day,  will  in  this  way  propagate  some  kinds  of 
weeds  to  a  most  undesirable  extent,  doubling 
and  trebling  their  number  where  his  only  in- 
tention was  to  destroy  them. 

A  layer  is  a  cutting  which  has  been  prepar- 
ed one  or  more  seasons  previously  to  being 
used.  A  twig  growing  out  of  a  tree  at  a  point 
not  far  from  the  ground,  is  bent  down  and  the 
middle  portion  of  it  is  buried  just  under  the 
surface  of  the  soil  and  fastened  there  by 
means  of  a  hooked  peg  or  by  a  stone  or  turf 
placed  above  it.  Success  is  rendered  more 
certain  by  checking  the  downward  flow  of  the 
sap.  This  may  be  accomplished  by  cutting  a 
slice  off  the  under  side  of  the  part  of  the  twig 
that  is  placed  under  ground,  or,  more  imper- 
fectly, by  twisting,  bruising,  or  partially 
debarking  the  twig  at  that  point;  some  re- 
commend to  enter  the  knife  on  the  under  side 
at  this  point  and  split  the  twig  upward  about 
one  or  two  inches,  fastening  the  split  open 
with  a  little  wedge  or  pebble. 

Trees   or    shrubs  purposely  headed  down 


K  t 


29 


for  raising  layers,  are  called  stools.  A  single 
quince-bush,  thus  made  into  a  stool,  and  its 
twigs  layered,  is  capable  of  producing  many 
finely  rooted  plants  in  a  single  season.  Of 
some  kinds  of  layers,  nearly  every  bud  will 
form  roots  of  its  own.  A  tree  or  shrub  origi- 
nated from  a  layer,  has  a  tendency  to  a  dwarf- 
ish habit,  and  to  inherit  the  diseases  by  which 
its  parent-plant  may  be  affected. 


SECTION    II. 

INDIRECT   MODE    OF    MULTIPLYING,    BY    GRAFTING 
FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  INTO  OTHER  TREES. 

A  graft  is  either  a  scion  (which  is  the  same 
thing  as  a  twig-cutting,)  or  a  bud  (which  is 
the  same  thing  as  a  bud-cutting.) 

Grafting  consists  in  causing  a  scion  or  a  bud 
to  grow  upon  a  limb  or  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  in- 
stead of  taking  root  directly  in  the  ground. 
The  artificial  tree  thus  produced,  is  said  to  be 
a  worked,  or  more  properly  a  grafted  tree.  A 
defect  in  the  language  compels  us  to  use  the 
term  graft  and  its  derivatives,  in  a  specific  as 
well  as  a  generic  sense.  Thus  to  graft  means, 
commonly  and  specifically,  to  scion ;  generic- 
ally  it  means  either  to  scion  or  to  bud.*  Were 
it  our  province  to  show  how  words  instead  of 
trees  may  be  multiplied,  we  should  be  tempted 
to  enrich  the '  phraseology  of  horticulture,  by 
endeavoring  to  introduce  into  good  usage  the 

*  The  French  employ  the  word  greffe  (graft)  in  this  same  gen  • 
eric  sense,  as  a  term  including  both  grafting  and  budding. 


31 

word  to  scion  and  its  derivatives,  scioning  and 
scioned,  just  as  we  have  to  bud,  budding,  and 
budded. 

The  tree  upon  which  a  graft  is  set,  is  called 
a  stock.  The  stock  and  the  graft  (scion  or 
bud)  form  a  partnership,  the  former  discharg- 
ing the  duties  of  mouth  and  stomach,  by  means 
of  its  roots,  the  latter  performing  the  functions 
of  lungs  and  perspiratory  system,  by  means  of 
its  leaves. 

It  hardly  needs  to  be  explained  that  no 
grafting  can  succeed,  unless  the  sap  vessels  of 
the  graft  (scion  or  bud)  and  those  of  the  stock, 
are  so  adapted  to  each  other  that  the  flow  of 
sap  shall  pass  uninterruptedly  from  one  to  the 
other.  These  sap-vessels  are  chiefly  situated 
in  the  inner  bark  (or  liber)  of  trees. 

Neither  can  any  grafting,  however  nicely 
performed,  be  successful,  unless  between  dif- 
ferent varieties  of  the  same  species,  as  the 
Apple  upon  a  seedling  apple-tree  stock;  or 
between  nearly  allied  species  of  the  same  ge- 
nus, as  between  the  x^pple  and  the  Pear,  which 
unions  are  comparatively  imperfect  and  short- 
lived ;  or,  thirdly,  between  nearly  allied  gen- 
era, as  between  the  Cherry  and  the  Plum, 
which  maintain  a  feeble  existence  for  a  limi- 


.      32 

ted  period,  and  then  die.  All  unions,  there- 
fore, between  widely  different  genera  and 
species,  are  utterly  impossible,  as  the  graft 
cannot  live  upon  the  sap  supplied  by  the 
stock,  any  more  than  a  lion  can  be  fed  upon 
grass.  Virgil,  and  other  writers  of  antiquity, 
being  ignorant  of  this  principle,  were  led  into 
great  errors — a  warning  to  those  of  modern 
times,  who  publish  dreams  of  imagination  in- 
stead of  real  facts. 

The  practical  limits  within  which  grafting 
is  ordinarily  confined,  are,  first,  between  vari- 
eties of  the  same  species,  for  standards;  and 
secondly,  between  varieties  of  different  species 
or  genera,  for  dwarfs.  The  Apple  upon  an 
Apple-seedling,  is  an  example  of  the  first,  the 
Apple  upon  the  Pear,  and  the  Pear  upon  the 
Quince,  are  examples  of  the  second.  Other 
things  equal,  grafting  is  successful  in  propor- 
tion to  the  health  and  vigor  of  the  stock  upon 
which  it  is  performed.  Recently  transplanted 
trees,  therefore,  are  not  in  a  favorable  situation 
to  be  grafted,  although  they  often  are  grafted 
successfully. 

The  primary  object  of  grafting  has  already 
been  stated.  Among  the  secondary  uses  of 
this  curious  and  very  ancient  art  are, — 


33 

1st.  To  alter  the  head  of  a  tree  bearing  one 
kind  of  fruitj  so  that  it  shall  bear  another  fruit 
possessing  more  desirable  qualities. 

2d.  To  improve  the  form  of  a  tree,  by  insert- 
ing scions  or  buds  into  the  sides  of  the  trunk 
or  limbs. 

3d.  To  invigorate  a  feebly  growing  variety, 
by  grafting  it  upon  a  vigorous  stock. 

4th.  To  accumulate  a  number  of  varieties 
upon  a  single  tree. 

5th.  To  accelerate  the  fruiting  of  a  young 
seedling  tree,  by  setting  grafts,  or,  more  es- 
pecially, fruit-spurs  or  fruit-buds  from  it,  upon 
a  grown  tree. 

6th.  To  propagate  a  tree  in  soils  unfavora- 
ble to  its  own  roots ;  as,  for  example,  the 
Peach  upon  the  Plum,  in  cold  clayey  soils. 

7th.  To  save  a  variety  from  being  lost,  as 
when  accident  has  destroyed  the  original  tree. 

8th.  To  transmit  a  variety  through  chan- 
nels in  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  send 
a  whole  tree,  as  to  forward  a  scion  or  a  bud 
enclosed  in  a  letter. 

9th.  To  produce  dwarf-trees.  For  this,  the 
Apple  is  grafted  upon  Paradise  (or  Doucin) 
stocks,  the  Pear  upon  the  Quince,  Thorn  or 
Mountain  Ash ;  the  Peach  upon  the  Plum, 


the  Plum  upon  Mirabelle  Plum  seedlings,  the 
Cherry  upon  the  Cerasus  Mahaleb,  and,  in 
general,  any  tree  upon  any  other  kindred  tree 
of  slower  or  smaller  growth.  There  is  also, 
we  may  remark  here,  another  mode  of  produ- 
cing dwarf-trees,  by  root-pruning,  which  we 
shall  describe  under  the  head  of  Pruning. 

The  stock  and  the  graft  (scion  or  bud,)  exert 
influences  upon  each  other,  mutually.  Some 
of  the  influences  of  the  stock  have  just  been 
mentioned,  see  3d,  5th,  6th,  and  9th  uses  of 
grafting  above  described.  The  stock  often 
affects  the  size  and  flavor  of  the  fruit  borne 
by  the  graft.  Thus  the  Saint  Michael  pear  is 
larger,  fairer,  and  better  flavored,  in  our  climate, 
when  grown  upon  the  Quince  stock.  Of  a 
graft  or  a  stock,  either  may  communicate  its 
own  diseases  and  infirmities  to  the  other.  It 
is  pretty  well  established,  also>  that  stocks  bear- 
ing early  fruits,  have  an  influence  in  acceler- 
ating the  ripening  of  the-  fruits  which  may  be 
made  to  grow  upon  them  by  grafting.  The 
graft  is  also  said,  in  some  cases,  to  affect  the 
appearance  of  the  bark  of  the  stock,  and  also 
the  form  of  growth  in  its  roots. 

It  may  be  remarked  here,  that  many  of  the 

ftevi  '     '•••••     i 


35 

theories  respecting  these  influenc 
a  rather  sandy  foundation  of  facts. 

There  are  two  general  methods  of  Grafting, 
1st,  with  Scions,  2d,  with  Buds. 

I.       SCION-GRAFTING,   (07'  SClOning.) 

As  we  have  said  above,  a  graft,  consisting 
of  a  twig  containing  two  or  more  buds,  is 
called  a  scion.  The  art  of  uniting  such  a 
graft  to  a  stock,  may  be  called  scion-grafting, 
or,  if  the  term  were  in  use,  we  should  prefer 
to  call  it  scioning. 

It  is  a  general  rule  that  scions  succeed  much 
better,  when  they  have  been  cut  some  time 
previously  to  their  being  set.  The  best  time 
to  cut  them,  is  from  the  middle  of  January  to 
the  last  of  February,  although  they  may  be 
taken  from  the  trees,  at  any  time  from  late 
autumn  until  spring.  In  order  to  keep  scions 
until  they  may  be  used,  nothing  more  is  neces- 
sary than  to  thrust  their  lower  ends  into  the 
ground,  in  a  shady  place,  say  close  on  the 
north  side  of  the  trunk  of  the  tree  from  which 
they  were  cut ;  or  a  better  way  is  to  set  them 
half  their  length  deep,  in  a  box  of  fine  soil  in 
a  cellar.  Scions  of  stone-fruits  require  to  be 
kept  with  more  care  than  those  of  the  apple 


36 

and  pear.  Scions  are  often  set  immediately 
on  being  cat,  in  the  months  of  March  and 
April. 

In  cutting  scions,  we  take,  from  the  extrem- 
ity of  the  limb  of  a  tree,  that  part  of  it  which 
grew  the  preceding  season,  and  we  keep  the 
shoot  or  twig  entire,  till  wanted  for  use.  Any 
thing  of  this  description  will  answer  for  scions, 
but  the  best  scions  are  cut  from  the  upright 
topmost  limbs  of  the  central  parts  of  a  healthy 
tree.  Young  nursery  trees  often  furnish  ex- 
cellent scions.  Grafts  of  unhealthy  trees 
ought  always  to  be  avoided. 

In  all  the  modes  of  grafting,  it  is  necessary 
to  protect  the  joint  of  the  stock  and  graft  from 
the  weather,  till  the  two  have  grown  together. 
For  this  purpose,  in  scion-grafting,  two  com- 
positions are  used,  one  is  called  grafting-clay, 
the  other,  grafting-wax. 

Good  grafting-clay  is  made,  by  mixing  two 
parts  of  clay  with  one  part  of  fresh  horse 
dung,  adding  a  little  hair  as  in  mortar.  It 
should  be  prepared  some  days  before  using, 
and  the  more  it  is  worked  over  the  better. 
Grafting-wax  is  composed  of  bees- wax,  ros- 
in and  tallow.  Downing  recommends  three 
parts  of  bees-wax,  three  parts  of  rosin,  and  two 


37 

of  tallow.  Melt  them  well  together,  and  pour 
ihs  mixture  off  into  a  vessel  of  cold  water. 
Before  it  hardens,  work  it  over  with  the  hands, 
as  you  would  molasses  candy;  and,  as  with 
the  clay,  the  more  it  is  worked  over  the  better. 
Among  the  Dutch,  a  compound  of  equal  parts 
of  cow-dung  and  loam,  well  worked  together, 
is  used  in  preference  to  any  other. 

T.  G.  Yeomans,  of  Walworth,  N.  Y.,  re- 
commends the  following,  as  a  grafting-wax 
which  "will  give  entire  satisfaction  to  who- 
ever shall  use  it."  He  says  he  considers  it 
better,  as  well  as  cheaper,  than  any  other 
grafting  composition  known.  Mr.  Yeomans 
prepares  what  he  calls  his  "  superior  grafting 
wax"  by  mixing  together  1  pint  Linseed  Oil, 
1  pound  Bees-wax,  and  6  pounds  Rosin.  He 
does  not  inform  us  how  the  mixing  process  is 
conducted,  but  we  presume  the  rosin  and 
bees-wax  are  simmered  together,  over  a  fire, 
and  the  oil  added  afterward.  Any  of  these 
compositions  will  answer  a  very  good  pur- 
pose. Even  a  turf  of  grass  has  served  to 
protect  a  cleft-grafted  scion,  sufficiently  to 
ensure  its  success.  But  it  is  never  advisable 
to  attempt  grafting,  unless  one  has  good  tools, 
time,  and  patience  to  do  the  work  faithfully 


38 

and  well.  When  it  is  desirable  to  bestow 
the  greatest,  possible  care  upon  a  scion,  the 
wax  composition  and  also  the  tip  end  of 
the  scion  may  be  covered,,  in  addition,  with 
the  gum-shellac  composition,  which  we  shall 
describe  under  the  head  of  Pruning. 

Scion-grafting  may  be  performed  at  almost 
any  season  of  the  year,  with  scions  properly 
kept.  A  stick  of  buds  (see  Bud-Grafting,) 
may  be  inserted  on  the  north  side  of  a  tree,  at 
budding  time,  after  the  mode  of  side-grafting 
explained  below;  and  from  that  time  to  the 
first  of  June,  scions  may  be  successfully  set. 
But  by  far  the  best  time  to  graft  with  scions,  is 
from  the  middle  of  February,  in  mild  weather, 
all  along  until  the  middle  of  May, — stone- 
fruits  first,  and  other  fruits  chiefly  in  April 
and  May. 

Scions  are  united  to  their  stocks  in  several 
ways.  Whatever  may  be  the  mode  of  oper- 
ating, the  principle  is  always  the  same  as 
above  stated, — namely,  the  sap-vessels  of  the 
graft  and  the  stock  must  be  so  adapted  to 
each  other,  that  the  sap  can  flow  uninterrupt- 
edly from  the  one  to  the  other. 

Cleft- grafting,  so  called,  is  the  mode  of  sci- 
on-grafting in  most  common  use.  Stocks,  from 

v;  -,,-  f  •<•    <- 


39 

half  an  inch  to  two  inches  in  diameter,  are 
usually  worked  over  in  this  way.  The  whole 
top  of  a  large  tree  may  thus  he  headed  back 
and  grafted,  so  as  to  become  even  more  valu- 
able than  one  that  was  grafted  in  the  nursery. 
The  operation  is  easily  described.  Saw 
off  the  stock  crosswise;  then  pare  the  end 
smoothly  with  a  knife.  Next,  split  it  down 
about  two  inches,  with  a  thin  sharp  knife, 
driven  with  a  hammer.  A  narrow  wedge  is 
now  driven  into,  the  middle  of  the  cleft,  so  as 
to  keep  the  top  of  it  open  about  a  quarter  of  an 
inch.  Cut  the  scion,  (which  should  not  contain 
more  than  three  or  four  buds,)  at  the  lower  end, 
in  the  form  of  a  wedge,  about  one  and  a  half 
inches  long,  contriving  to  have  a  bud*  or  eye 
at  the  top  of  the  part  so  formed,  to  ensure 
greater  success.  The  scion  is  next  to  be  insert- 
ed on  one  side  of  the  stock,  and  fitted  nicely 
into  the  cleft,  so  that  the  inner  bark  of  the 
outer  side  of  the  scion  shall  exactly  meet  that 
of  the  stock.  On  large  stocks,  two  scions  are 
thus  inserted,  one  on  each  side  ;  and,  when  a 
stock  is  extremely  large,  two  clefts  may  be 
made,  and  four  scions  inserted.  These  will  be 

*  After  the  scion  is  set,  this  bud  should  be  on  the  outer  side  of 
it,  and  about  a  quarter  of  aa  inch  below  the  top  of  the  stock. 


40 

managed,  in  future  years,  according  to  the 
discretion  of  the  primer.  When  the  stock  is 
very  small,  it  is  necessary  to  bind  the  joint,  by 
tying  it  with  bass-matting.  Every  part  of 
the  joint  should  now  be  protected  from  the 
weather,  by  covering  it  with  grafting  clay  or 
wax.  When  the  scion  is  set  just  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  a  little  mound  of  earth 
may  be  heaped  over  the  joint,  as  a  substitute 
for  the  clay  or  wax. 

When  the  stock  and  scion  are  of  about  the 
same  size,  the  operation  may  be  reversed,  the 
cleft  being  made  in  the  scion,  and  the  stock 
wedge-shaped  and  fitted  into  it.  This  mode 
is  called  saddle- grafting.  A  little  wood 
should  be  pared  out,  on  each  inner  side  of  the 
cleft  of  the  scion,  so  as  to  fit  it  better  to  the 
stock. 

Splice- grafting.  This  is  done  very  neatly 
and  perfectly,  upon  stocks  which  are  of  the 
exact  size  of  the  scion.  Cut  off  the  stock,  with 
an  upward  slant  of  an  inch  or  more  in  length, 
and  the  scion  with  a  similar  downward  slant ; 
tie  the  two  firmly  together  with  bass-matting, 
always  fitting  their  inner  barks,  or  sap-vessels, 
to  each  other;  next,  cover  the  joint  with  wax 
or  clay,  and  you  have  performed  one  of  the 


41 

neatest  and  surest  modes  of  grafting  yet 
known. 

When  the  stock  is  larger  than  the  scion,  the 
latter  must  be  fitted  to  one  side  of  the  former. 

It  is  often  more  convenient  in  practice,  to 
tongue  the  stock  and  scion  together,  that  is,  to 
cut  a  corresponding  notch  or  slit  in  each,  and 
then  fit  the  two  carefully  together,  tying  and 
claying  or  waxing  the  joint,  as  before. 

Small  stocks,  taken  up  in  the  fall  and  kept 
in  a  cellar,  are  often  grafted  in  winter,  by  the 
fire-side,  in  either  of  the  above-described 
modes,  and  then  kept  in  the  cellar  until 
spring. 

Side-grafting  is  often  practised  to  improve 
the  form  of  a  tree,  or  as  a  substitute  for  the 
other  modes  of  grafting.  Cut  the  scion  as  for 
splice-grafting.  In  the  bark  of  the  trunk  or 
limb,  where  you  wish  to  insert  the  scion,  cut 
a  slit,  of  the  form  of  an  inverted  L  (thus  q,) 
paring  away  a  small  triangular  piece  of  the 
bark,  on  the  upper  side  of  the  horizontal  part 
of  the  slit,  so  that  the  scion  may  fit  closely  to 
the  stock.  The  vertical  part  of  the  slit  should 
be  two  or  three  inches  long.  Raise  the  corner 
of  the  bark,  and  enter  the  scion  under  it, 
always  remembering  the  fundamental  princi- 


42 

pie  essential  to  the  success  of  all  grafting. 
By  shaving  off  the  bark  of  the  scion  entirely 
around  its  lower  end,  more  of  its  sap-vessels 
are  brought  in  contact  with  those  of  the 
stock,  and  its  growth  is  therefore  rendered 
more  certain.  The  joint  must  now  be  bound 
with  strong  matting,  or  tarred  rope  (old  ship- 
rigging.)  In  applying  the  bandage,  it  should 
be  wound,  so  as  to  bind  the  scion  against  the 
undisturbed  bark  of  the  vertical  portion  of  the 
slit.  Cover  with  the  composition  as  before. 
Fruit-bearing  spurs  of  the  Pear  or  Apple,  in- 
serted in  this  way,  sometimes  bear  the  same 
season  in  which  they  are  grafted. 

This  mode  of  grafting  cannot  be  performed, 
until  the  sap  of  the  tree  flows  freely,  say 
about  the  tenth  of  May,  or  later  for  most 
kinds  of  trees. 

In-arch  grafting.  This  mode  is  used  when 
others  will  scarcely  succeed.  The  two  trees 
must  stand  close  to  each  other.  A  twig  of 
each,  without  being  cut  from  its  tree,  must  be 
pared  with  a  long  corresponding  slanting  cut, 
and  the  two  raw  edges  must  be  fitted  nicely, 
and  bound  firmly  together,  and  the  joint  cover- 
ed with  the  composition.  When  the  union  has 
taken  place,  the  trees  are  so  separated,  as  to 


43 

leave  the  scion  on  the  tree  where  it  is  wanted. 

There  is  also  a  mode  of  grafting,  by  which 
a  stock  may  be  worked  into  a  tree  which  has 
a  feeble  root.  Take,  for  instance,  a  pear-tree 
upon  a  quince  root,  which  has  become  weak 
and  unhealthy,  at  or  below  the  point  of 
grafting.  Set  out,  close  to  it,  one  or  more 
small  vigorous  Pear  stocks,  and- graft  them 
into  the  trunk  of  the  Pear,  as  near  the  surface 
of  the  ground  as  possible,  or  even  below  it, 
by  the  mode  of  side- grafting  inverted.  We 
have  seen  a  dwarf  thus  entirely  taken  off  its 
quince  bottom,  and  converted  into  a  standard 
tree.  This  should  be  done  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  the  bark  will  slip. 

In  rich  soils  and  favorable  locations,  the 
Pear  may  be  taken  off  its  Quince  bottom, 
simply  by  setting  the  latter  three  or  four  inch- 
es under  ground,  or  by  raising  the  ground 
around  it,  using,  in  the  latter  case,  a  rich,  gen- 
erous soil,  suited  to  the  wants  of  Pear  roots. 

The  sap- vessels  of  the  Grape,  and  of  some 
other  vines,  are  of  such  structure  and  location, 
that  the  mode  of  grafting  may  be  varied 
essentially  from  what  has  been  described 
above. 

Mr.  Goodnow,  of  Indiana  says,    "I  have 


44 


never  succeeded  with  any  other  mode  of 
grafting  the  Grape  than  this  :  —  Cut  off  the 
root,  some  two  inches  below  the  ground,  with 
a  transverse  cut.  Then  choose  a  gimblet  just 
the  size  of  the  scions  to  be  inserted,  and  bore 
from  one  to  three  or  four  holes,  in  the  end  of 
the  stock,  according  to  the  size  of  the  root,  and 
insert  the  .scions,  first  removing  their  loose 
bark.  The  holes  should  be  two  or  three  inches 
in  depth,  and  perpendicular  with  the  grain  of 
the  wood,  and  the  scions  should  fit  accurately 
into  them.  I  have  never  known  them  fail  to 
grow.  If  the  operation  is  performed  so  late 
in  the  spring  that  the  root  shows  a  disposition 
to  bleed,  grafting  cement  must  be  used."  We 
infer,  therefore,  that  this  work  would  be  done 
more  advantageously,  very  early  in  the  spring. 
Herbaceous  grafting,  (or  rather  scioning.) 
The  French  gardeners  have  succeeded  perfect- 
ly with  this  curious  operation;  grafting  melon 
vines  upon  those  of  the  cucumber,  the  tomato 
upon  the  potato,  and  effecting  other  similar 
unions  between  vegetables  of  the  same  species. 


• 

ii.     BUD-GRAFTING,  (budding  or  inoculating.) 


Bud-grafting,  which  is  commonly  called 
budding  or  inoculating,  is  a  modification  of 
side  grafting,  in  which  the  graft  consists  of 
but  a  single  bud,  or  eye. 

This  is  always  an  easy  and  convenient 
method  of  working  small  stocks.  It  is 
usually  performed,  in  the  latter  part  of  sum- 
mer, although  it  may  be  done  late  in  the 
spring;  but  it  is  not  advisable  to  resort  to 
budding  in  the  spring,  except  where  we  have 
a  very  valuable  scion,  which  we  wish,  by 
subdividing,  to  increase  the  chances  of  sav- 
ing. In  this  case,  we  may  cut  off  the  buds  of 
the  scion,  and  insert  them  separately,  in  the 
manner  which  we  are  about  to  describe,  wait- 
ing of  course  till  the  sap  of  the  stock  is  in  full 
motion.  We,  in  this  latitude,  commence  Mid- 
ding  Plums,  Cherries,  Apricots  and  Pears,  the 
latter  part  of  July.  From  the  middle  of  Au- 
gust to  the  middle  of  September,  is  the  season 
for  Apples.  From  the  first  to  the  middle  of 
September,  is  better  than  earlier,  for  Peaches 
3 


46 

and  Nectarines.*  It  is  essential  to  success, — 
1  st.  That  the  bark  of  the  stock  should  part  free- 
ly from  the  wood ;  for  whenever,  either  from 
the  season  of  the  year  or  the  feeble  condition 
of  the  stock,  the  bark  adheres  to  the  wood,  the 
operation  will  certainly  prove  a  failure. 
2d.  The  bud  which  is  to  be  inserted,  should  be 
well  ripened;  otherwise  it  will  not  have  vital 
energy  sufficient  to  establish,  itself,  in  its  new 
location. 

To  prepare  a  stick  of  buds  for  budding  in 
summer  or  autumn,  take  a  scion  of  the  pre&- 
ent  season's  growth,  and  cut  off  the  portions- 
of  each  end  of  it  containing  buds  that  are  im- 
perfectly developed.  Next,  cut  off  the  leaves, 
at  a  point  about  in  the  middle  of  their  stems 
or  footstalks.  The  buds  which  are-  to  be  used, 
lie  in  the  angle  on  the  upper  side  of  these 
stems.  Upon  the  Peach  and  some  other  trees, 
three  classes  of  buds  will  be  noticed, — single, 
double,  and  triple.  Double  buds  being  gener- 

*  It  will  give  a  better  idea  of  the  proper  time  for  autumn  bud- 
ding, to  mention,  that  a  bud  has  two  stages  of  growth, — 1st,  to 
unite  itself  with  its  stock  j  2d,to  form  wood  of  its  own.  The 
best  time  to  set  a  bud,  in  summer  or  autumn,  is  just  early  enough 
to  allow  it  time  to  complete  its  first  stage  of  growth,  without  en- 
tering  upon  its  second,  this  latter  growth  being  delayed  until  the 
ensuing  spring. 


47 

ally  fruit-buds^,  ought  to  be  avoided,  unless 
when  the  particular  object  of  the  operation, 
(which  seldom  succeeds,)  is  to  secure  a  speci- 
men of  fruit  the  ensuing  year,  and  nothing 
further.  Single  ivood-buds  are  preferable 
to  the  triple  ones,  except  in  working  the 
Peach,  where  the  latter,  in  our  climate,  seem 
to  succeed  quite  as  well  as  the  former.  It 
may  assist  the  inexperienced  budder.  to  in- 
form him  that  the  blossom-buds  are'  quite 
round,  whereas  the  wood-buds  -are  always 
long  and  pointed.  Yery  feeble  wood-buds 
sometimes  have  not  vigor  sufficient  to  grow 
into  a  twig;  they,  therefore,  emit  two  or  three 
leaves  only,  the  first  season,  and  then  die. 

The  size  of  the  stock  (trunk  or  limb,)  upon 
which  this  operation  is  to  be  performed,  ought 
to  be  from  one-eighth  of  an  inch  to  not  more 
than  an  inch  in  diameter.  There  are  many 
modes  of  budding;  we  shall  give  only  that 
which  we  consider  the  best. 

With  a  sharp  budding  knife,  (a  pen-knife 
will  answer,)  upon  a  smooth  place,  on  the  side 
of  the  stock,  cut  a  longitudinal  slit,  an  inch  or 
more  long.  Across  the  top  of  this,  cut  a  trans- 
verse slit,  from  a  quarter  to  half  an  inch  long, 
so  that  both  slits,  taken  together,  shall  resem- 


48 

ble  a  letter  T.  Next,  cut  from  your  stick 
of  buds,  a  thin  slice  of  bark,  with  a  little 
wood  in  the  central  portion  of  it,  entering  the 
knife  about  half  or  three-fourths  of  an  inch 
below,  and  bringing  it  out  about  as  far  above 
a  bud.  This  slice  of  bark  and  wood,  taken 
together,  is  called  a  bud, — the  part  of  the  bud 
which  grows  into  a  twig  being  technically 
called  its  eye. 

With  the  ivory  haft  of  your  budding-knife, 
or,  if  you  have  not  such  a  knife,  with  any 
little  wedge  of  wood  or  ivory,  raise  up  the 
Corners  of  the  slit  in  the  stock.  Taking  hold  of 
the  bud  by  its  foot-stalk,  enter  it,  and  gently 
push  it  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  incision. 
The  eye  of  the  bud  will  now  be  about  from 
one-fourth  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  from  the 
transverse  part  of  the  slit.  The  part  of  the 
bud,  if  any,  projecting  above  this  transverse 
slit,  should  be  cut  off,  by  passing  the  knife 
through  it,  into  the  transverse  slit  again,  so 
that  the  upper  end  of  the  bud  and  this  trans- 
verse part  of  the  slit  shall  make  a  good  joint 
together.  Bind  the  bud  firmly  with  shreds 
of  bass-matting,  so  as  to  cover  every  part  of 
it  except  the  eye.  Woollen  yarn  or  corn 
husks  will  answer,  when  no  matting  is  at 
hand. 


49 


If  the  stock  grows  so  much,  the  remainder 
of  the  season,  as  to  occasion  the  bandage  to 
girdle  it,  take  the  bandage  off;  otherwise,  let  it 
remain  on  until  spring. 

In  the  month  of  April,  when  the  buds  begin 
to  swell,  remove  the  bandage,  if  it  has  not 
been  previously  removed,  and  cut  off  the 
stock  three  or  four  inches  above  the  bud, 
which  will  soon  begin  to  grow  vigorously. 
The  stock  is  left  thus  long  above  the  bud,  as 
this  will  often  be  convenient  for  tying  up  the 
young  shoot  of  the  bud,  during  the  first  sea- 
son of  its  growth ;  after  which  the  stock  may 
be  cut  offclose  above  the  point  where  the  bud 
was  inserted. 

When  the  buds  are  set  in  the  spring,  the 
stocks  are  cut  off  above  them,  as  soon  as  they 
show  any  signs  of  growing.  As  soon  as  a 
bud  or  a  scion  begins  to  grow,  ail  sprouts  or 
suckers  (called  robber-shoots,)  starting  out 
below  it,  should  be  carefully  cut  off.  This, 
however,  should  be  done  gradually,  if  the 
stock  is  quite  large,  otherwise  the  bud  or  scion 
might  not  afford  a  sufficient  supply  of  leaves 
to  keep  the  sap  of  the  stock  in  healthy  action. 

A  modification  of  the  process  of  budding  is 
deserving  of  notice.  The  French  call  it  Bud- 


50 

ding  without  Buds  (Grejfe  satis  yeux.}  The 
object  of  this  operation  is  merely  to  cover  a 
wound  or  blemish  in  one  tree  with  the  live 
bark  of  another,  thus  : 

"  Take  from  a  tree  of  the  same  species  as 
the  wounded  tree,  a  piece  of  bark  rather  larger 
than  the  wound,  and  form  it  into  a  regular 
shape.  Cut  the  bark  round  the  wound  into 
the  exact  form  and  dimensions  of  the  piece  to 
be  inserted,  so  that  the  latter  may  be  fitted 
into  the  former,  with  the  greatest  exactness. 
Bind  the  joint  tightly  with  a  ligature,  and 
cover  the  whole  with  grafting  clay  or  wax/'' 

The  same  cure  may  also  be  effected  by 
means  of  scions.  Cut  good  thrifty  scions 
from  the  same  species  of  tree  as  the  wounded 
one.  After  paring  the  edges  of  the  wound 
smoothly,  insert  the  lower  ends  of  the  scions 
under  the  bark  at  the  lower  side  of  the  wound, 
by  the  above-described  mode  of  side-grafting; 
then  insert  the  upper  ends  of  the  scions  under 
the  bark  of  the  upper  side  of  the  wound,  by  the 
mode  of  side- grafting  inverted.  Bind  the 
joint,  particularly  at  its  two  ends,  with  tarred 
rope  or  some  other  suitable  ligature.  Next 
cover  all  the  parts  heavily  with  grafting  clay ; 
and  then  bind  an  old  cloth  or  piece  of  matting 
around,  so  as  to  secure  the  whole. 


51 

In  both  the  above-described  processes  oJ 
•cure,  the  bandages  need  not  be  removed  till 
the  next  year.  Injuries  done  to  trees  by  mice 
in  the  winter,  may  often  be  successfully  re- 
paired by  either  of  the  modes  just  described. 

HI.   POSITION  OF  THE  GRAFT  UPON  THE  STOCK. 

There  are  five  principal  points  at  which  a 
graft  may  be  inserted  into  a  stock, — 

1st.  At  or  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Splice,  cleft,  and  saddle  grafting,  are  applica- 
ble at  this  point,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
stock,  or  the  fancy  of  the  operator.  Trees 
worked  in  this  way,  have  a  neat  appearance, 
as  the  joint  of  the  stock  and  the  scion  is  not 
visible. 

2d.  Between  the  surface  of  the  ground 
and  the  point  of  branching  out.  All  the 
modes  of  grafting  may  be  practised  at  this 
point.  But  if  the  stock  and  graft  do  not 
grow  alike,  the  tree  will  suffer  in  appearance, 
and  perhaps  even  in  its  health  and  vigor. 
This  is  the  point  where  nurserymen  graft 
nine-tenths  of  their  trees,  because  the  work 
can  be  done  more  expeditiously  here,  and  the 
tree  becomes  marketable  quite  as  soon  as 


52 

when  worked  at  any  other  point.  But  it  does 
not  follow,  therefore,  that  this  is  the  best 
point,  by  any  means. 

3d.  At  the  point  of  branching.  All  the 
modes  of  grafting  may  also  be  performed  here ; 
but  the  objection  just  stated  weighs  also, 
though  in  a  less  degree,  against  this  place  of 
inserting  the  graft.  Trees  grafted  at  this 
point,  are,  however,  quite  as  valuable  to  the 
purchaser  as  those  worked  by  either  of  the 
above  described  modes. 

4th.  Beyond  the  point  of  branching,  in  the 
limbs.  A  tree  properly  grafted  in  this  way,  so 
that  it  shall  form  a  handsome  top,  is  unques- 
tionably more  valuable  than  one  which  has 
been  worked  at  any  lower  point ;  and  if  such 
trees  are  not  recommended  by  nursery-men 
generally,  it  may  be  because  such  high  work- 
ed trees  cannot  be  got  into  the  market  so 
young,  or  sold  at  so  good  a  profit,  as  others. 
We  do  not  at  all  mean  to  condemn  trees  graft- 
ed in  either  of  the  above-mentioned  modes, 
but  only  to  give  our  preference  to  those  of  this 
latter  class. 

5th.  Still  farther  from  the  trunk,  in  the 
branches  of  the  limbs.  This  is  the  place  to 
put  a  new  head  upon  an  old  tree.  An  excel- 


53 

lent  plan  for  performing  this  improvement  is 
recommended  by  Mr.  Olmsted,  of  East  Hart- 
ford, Ct.  He  says,  "I  begin  on  the  top,  and 
graft  one-third  each  year,  taking  three  years 
to  complete  the  entire  heads  of  the  trees. 
Grafting  the  top  first,  gives  the  grafts  there 
the  best  possible  chance,  while  the  necessary 
reduction  of  the  top  throws  the  sap  into  the 
remaining  side  branches,  fitting  them  well  for 
grafting  the  following  year."  The  lower 
branches  are,  in  the  same  way,  made  ready 
for  the  succeeding  year. 

This  is  quite  a  profitable  labor  to  be  em- 
ployed upon  a  healthy  old  tree,  of  which 
the  present  fruit  is  not  good.  Twenty-eight 
bushels  of  apples  were  gathered  by  Mr.  O., 
from  a  single  tree,  only  six  years  from  the 
time  the  first  scion  was  set  in  it  in  this  way. 

In  general,  except  where  dwarfing  is  the 
object,  the  nearer  the  point  of  union,  between 
graft  and  stock,  is  to  the  fruit-bearing  parts  of 
the  tree,  the  better;  because  seedling  wood 
has  naturally  more  hardihood  and  vigor,  than 
the  wood  of  a  bud  or  scion  usually  possesses ; 
— this,  at  any  rate,  is  the  teaeliing  of  expe- 
rience, if  not  of  theory. 


CHAPTER   III. 

STOCKS  FOR  GRAFTING. 

IT  is  generally  best  to  raise  stocks  of  all 
kinds  of  fruit  trees,  from  seeds.  In  the  culti- 
vation of  the  apple,  the  pear,  and  also  of  the 
plum  and  the  cherry,  swc&er-stocks  should  be 
carefully  avoided,  unless  no  others  can  be 
procured. 

The  general  rule,  for  raising  seedlings  of  all 
our  hardy  out-door  fruit  trees,  is  to  plant  their 
seeds  about  an  inch  deep  in  the  ground,  in  the 
latter  part  of  summer  or  in  autumn,  as  soon 
as  the  fruits  ripen.  The  seeds  of  the  later 
varieties  of  each  species,  for  the  most  part, 
succeed  the  best.  But  to  be  more  particular  : 

Apple  seedling-stocks  may  be  very  easily 
raised,  thus :  Take  pomace,  in  autumn,  from 
the  cider-press,  before  fermentation  has  com- 
menced; sow  the  pomace  in  drills  of  about 
four  or  -  six  inches  in  width,  and  about  four 
feet  apart,  covering  it  from  half  an  inch  to  an 
inch  deep.  A  neater,  but  altogether  unneces- 


55 

sary  process,  is  to  wash  the  seeds  out  of  the 
pomace,  before  sowing  them. 

During  the  next  summer,  keep  the  young 
trees  clean  'of  weeds,  working  between  the 
drills  with  a  horse-plough  or  cultivator.  If 
the  plants  spring  up  very  thick,  it  is  good 
economy  to  pull  up  and  throw  away  a  portion 
of  them.  By  the  second  or  -third  spring,  ac- 
cording to  the  soil  and  cultivation,  about 
three-fourths  of  the  seedlings  will  be  large 
enough  to  be  set  out  in  nursery  rows;  the 
other  one-fourth,  or  thereabouts,  being  of  a 
dwarfish  or  stunted  growth,  should  be  thrown 
away,  as  worse  than  worthless. 

Those  which  are  to  be  planted  out  in  the 
nursery,  will  be  from  one-eighth  to  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  at  the  surface 
of  the  -ground.  They  should  be  taken  up, 
their  tap-roots  shortened,  and  three  or  four 
inches  of  their  tops  cut  off;  then  they  should 
be  set  in  straight  rows,  one  foot  apart  in  the 
row,  the  rows  being  three  or  four  feet  apart. 

The  best  soil,  in  which  to  sow  the  seeds  or 
set  the  young  trees  of  the  apple,  is  a  strong 
deep  loam,  rather  moist  than  dry — say  a  soil 
that  would  produce  a  large  crop  of  Indian 
corn. 


56 

Pear  stocks  may  be  raised  from  seed,  pre- 
cisely in  the  mode  we  have  described  for  Ap- 
ple seedlings,  only  let  the  soil  be  deeper  and 
richer.  But  the  climate  of  New  England  is- 
not  well  adapted  to  their  growth,  and  it  is 
not,  therefore,  advisable  to  attempt  to  raise 
them,  so  long  as  the  foreign  stocks  can  be  so 
cheaply  purchased  of  importing  houses,  in 
Boston  or  New  York. 

Cherry  stocks  are  generally  raised  from 
seeds  of  the  common  Black  Mazzard  cherry. 
Gather  the  fruit,  when  it  is  fully  ripe,  arid- 
sow  it  immediately  in  drills,  covering,  &c.3 
precisely  as  directed  for  the1  apple-seedlings. 
The  soil  should  be  a  deep,  rich  sandy  loam. 

Some  wash  the  seeds  from  the  pulp,  before 
sowing,  but,  as  with  the  apple,  we  have  found 
this  to  be  unnecessary.  The  stones,  may  be 
kept  in  sand  until  spring,  but  we  do  not  ad- 
vise to  do  it.  When  the  plants  are  one  year 
old,  under  good  cultivation,  they  will  be  fit  to 
set  out  in  nursery  rows.  Assort  them  accord- 
ing to  their  size,  throwing  away  the  quite 
small  ones ;  cut  off  their  tap-roots  and  tops, 
and  set  them  out  in  the  way  described  for 
apple-stocks. 

Plum-stocks  may  be  had  of  the  importers. 


57 

or  they  may  be  raised  from  the  seeds  of  any 
free  growing  kinds,  in  the  same  way  as  cher- 
ry-stocks, (avoiding  the  seeds  of  the  damsons, 
as  they  are  not  easily  budded.)  A  rich, 
heavy,  moist  soil  suits  the  plum  best. 

The  above-named  stocks  may  be  splice- 
grafted,  when  first  set  out  in  nursery  rows ; 
but  it  is  a  preferable  practice,  to  bud  them, 
the  ensuing  summer.  In  ten  days  from  set- 
ting a  bud,  it  will  generally  be  ascertainable 
whether  it  will  live.  If  this  appears  doubtful, 
another  bud  may  be  set  in  the  stock,  either 
above  or  below  the  first.  If  unsuccessful  the 
first  year,  bud  again  the  next,  and  even  a 
third  year.  If  still  unsuccessful,  scwm-graft 
the  stocks,  at  the  proper  season,  or  throw 
them  away.  This  throwing  away  worthless 
stocks,  by  the  by,  is  sometimes  a  very  profit- 
able operation. 

Peach  stones  should  be  gathered,  in  the 
season  of  the  fruit,  and  kept  in  sand  in  a  cel- 
lar, or  buried  in  the  ground,  until  early  plant- 
ing time  in  the  spring.  They  should  then  be 
cracked  with  a  hammer,  and  planted  in  rows 
three  or  four  feet  apart,  and  six  inches  to  a 
foot  apart  in  the  rows.  They  should  be  bud- 
ded the  ensuing  September.  The  next  spring, 


those  stocks  in  which  the  bud  is  not  aliver 
should  be  cut  down  close  to  the  ground,  and 
only  a  single  shoot  suffered  to  grow,  to  be 
budded  the  following  autumn.  If  there  is 
again  a  failure  in  the  bud,  dig  up  the  stock 
and  throw  it  away>  as  worthless.  The  high- 
est ground  in  your  nursery  is  the  place  for 
peaches  and  cherries,  and  they  will  be  truly 
grateful  far  a  deep,  rich,  loamy  soil. 

Quince  bushes  may  be  raised  from  cuttings, 
which  of  course  do  not  need  grafting.  When 
seedling  quinces  are  desired,  sow  the  seeds  in 
autumn,,  just  as  you  would  those  of  the  apple, 
and  give  them  the  same  after  treatment.  The 
quince  is  much  more  easily  raised  from  cut- 
tings in  Europe  than  in  this  country.  Good, 
well  rooted  plants  can  be  had  of  the  importers 
quite  as  cheap  as  they  can  be  raised  here. 
When  it  is  desirable  to  graft  quince  cuttings 
or  seedlings,  follow  the  directions  given  above 
for  the  apple,  pear,  &c. 

Stocks  for  dwarf-trees — as  the  Paradise  ap- 
ple, Mirabelle  plum,  Cerasus  Mahaleb  cherry, 
— or  the  dwarf-trees  themselves,  are  obtained 
from  the  importers,  at  very  reasonable  prices. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

TRANSPLANTING. 

No  branch  of  tree-cultivation  is  more  im- 
perfectly understood  than  this.  Thousands 
of  fine  trees  die,  the  first  season  after  being 
set,  in  consequence  of  the  ignorance  and  inex- 
perience of  those  who  plant  them.  And  many 
which  survive  their  first  summer  of  suffering, 
stand  for  years,  hesitating  between  life  and 
death,  which,  had  they  received  an  extra  fif- 
teen minutes'  attention,  and  a  shilling's  worth 
of  rich  soil  at  setting,  would  have  repaid  for 
both,  an  hundred  fold,  in  beauty  of  growth 
and  productiveness. 

To  do  this  work  perfectly,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  take  up  a  tree,  with  every  fibre 
of  its  roots  entire,  and  to  set  it  again,  so  that 
every  root,  rootlet,  and  fibrous  root  should  oc- 
cupy the  same  relative  position  in  the  ground, 
that  it  originally  had, — being  at  the  same 
depth  from  the  surface ;  and  the  earth  lying 
as  compactly  around  it  as  before. 


60 

But,  as  trees  are  rarely  moved  without  suf- 
fering more  or  less  loss  or  maiming  of  their 
roots,  it  becomes  important  to  understand 
iiow  to  repair  this  injury. 

A  tree  is  a  thing  of  life.  It  lives  and  has 
its  being.  Its  roots  constitute  its  mouths  and 
stomach  ;  its  foliage  performs  the  functions  of 
lungs  and  perspiratory  system.  If,  on  re- 
moving a  tree,  you  cut  away  one-half  of  its 
mouths,  at  the  same  time,  of  course,  destroying 
an  equal  portion  of  its  stomach,  its  powers  of 
perspiration  and  respiration  must  also  be  pro- 
portionably  checked,  or  its  health,  or  life  even, 
may  be  destroyed.  Hence,  when  a  period  of 
rainy  weather  immediately  succeeds  the  set- 
ting of  a  tree,  it  is  almost  sure  to  live;  for  the 
dampness  of  the  atmosphere  checks  the  perspi- 
ration and  respiration  of  the  tree,  till  its  roots 
in  a  measure  recover  what  they  have  suffered 
from  their  mutilation  and  removal.  The  same 
thing  is  also  imperfectly  accomplished,  by 
watering  the  top  of  a  tree  with  a  water-pot 
for  several  successive  nights  after  being  set,  or 
by  binding  the  trunk  with  moss  and  straw. 
A  small  plant  or  cutting  is  put  under  a  bell- 
glass  for  this  purpose,  the  confined  air  check- 
ing the  perspiration  equally  as  well  as  a  hu- 
mid or  cloudy  atmosphere. 


61 

The  fundamental  principle  to  be  generally 
observed,  in  transplanting,  is  to  head  back  the 
top  of  the  tree,  in  proportion  to  the  loss  of 
ro.ot  that  it  has  sustained  by  being  removed. 
Trees  which  are  impatient  of  the  knife,  as  the 
cherry  and  some  others,  should  be  taken  up 
with  great  care,  so  as  to  save  as  much  of  the 
root  as  possible.  Instead  of  heading  in  the  top 
of  the  newly-planted  tree,  it  has  been  recom- 
mended very  strongly,  to  remove  every  alter- 
nate bud  from  each  little  limb  or  scion  of  the 
tree,  sparing  the  terminal  buds.  This  mode, 
it  is  urged,  saves  a  year's  growth  of  the  wood. 
This  disbudding  process  may  be  worthy  of 
trial,  but,  as  at  present  advised,  we  should 
still  give  our  decided  preference  to  the  short- 
ening method. 

Some  fruit  trees  may  be  moved  much  more 
easily  than  others.  Downing  arranges  them, 
with  reference  to  this  point,  in  the  follow- 
ing order: — Plums,  Quinces,  Apples,  Pears, 
Peaches,  Nectarines,  Apricots,  and,  last  and 
most  difficult,  Cherries.  It  is  an  invariable 
rule,  that  the  larger  the  tree  the  'less  the 
chances  of  success.  Small  trees  should  always 
be  set,  in  the  spring,  in  our  climate.  If  neces- 
sarily taken  up  in  the  fall,  heel  them  in  for  the 
4 


62 

winter ;  i.  e..  dig  a  trench,  lay  them  in  slant- 
ing, and  bury  their  roots  quite  deep  in  the 
ground,  mixing  the  soil  well  among  them.  In 
the  spring,  take  them  up  and  set  them  where 
you  wish.  Medium-sized  trees,  say  five  to 
ten  feet  high,  may  be  set  equally  well,  either 
in  the  autumn  or  spring.  Trees  of  large  size 
should  be  moved,  late  in  autumn,  in  the  win- 
ter, or  quite  early  in  the  spring.  Trees  of 
medium  and  moderately  large  size,  may  in- 
deed be  set,  at  any  time,  from  the  fall  of  the 
leaf  in  the -autumn  until  the  buds  begin  to  ex- 
pand in  the  spring,  provided  the  weather  is 
not  freezing,  and  the  ground  is  not  too  wet. 
In  setting  trees  of  medium  and  large  size,  if 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  is  crooked,  place  the  tree 
so  that  it  shall  crook  toward  the  prevailing 
wind  to  which  it  is  to  be  exposed.  In  almost 
all  places  in  interior  New  England,  this  will 
be  found  to  be  the  north-west  wind.  If  the 
tree  is  straight  and  handsome,  set  it  with  its 
longest  limbs  toward  the  north.  By  observing 
these  rules,  you  will  have  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  your  trees  growing  more  and  more 
symmetrical  and  beautiful  every  year. 

The   ancient  precept,  teaching   to  set   the 
sides  of  the  tree  to  the  same  points  of  compass 


63 

at  which  they  previously  stood,  is  of  not  the 
slightest  consequence.  From  a  disregard  of 
the  rules  just  given,  three-fourths  of  the  old 
orchard  trees,  now  standing  in  Massachusetts, 
are  leaning  awkwardly  over  toward  the 
south-east,  where  they  have  been  turned  by 
our  prevailing  north-west  winds. 

Ornamental  trees  are  generally  set,  at  the 
same  season  with  fruit  trees.  The  evergreen 
tribe  are,  however,  best  planted  out,  just  as 
their  buds  begin  to  swell  in  the  spring.  They 
are  also  successfully  set,  in  autumn,  and  also 
during  the  last  of  May  and  first  of  June,^  If 
their  roots  are  exposed  to  dry,  out  of  the 
ground,  they  are  about  certain  to  die.  If  the 
root  of  an  evergreen  is  much  diminished  by 
removal,  it  will  be  found  advantageous  to 
shorten-in  symmetrically  its  side  limbs,  but 
never  head  off  the  lea  ding  shoots  of  evergreen 
trees. 

*  This  last  is  said  to  be  the  best  season  for  removing  evergreen 
trees  from  a  forest  into  an  open  exposure. 


|5V?V! 


SECTION    I. 

TRANSPLANTING  TREES  OF  SMALL  SIZE. 

SMALL  trees,  of  less  than  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  are  very  easily  re-set.  If 
you  wish  to  put  them  in  nursery-rows,  i.  e., 
to  trench-plant  them,  dig  a  little  trench,  suffi- 
ciently wide  to  receive  their  roots  without 
cramping  them.  Make  this  trench  by  a  tight 
line,  so  that  it  shall  be  straight.  Cut  off  the 
tap-roots  of  the  trees,  if  they  have  any,  and 
shape  their  side-roots  as  handsomely  and 
evenly  as  may  be  convenient;  then  cut  off  the 
top,  (or,  what  may  answer,  pick  off  the  alter- 
nate buds,)  of  the  tree,  so  as  to  restore  its  bal- 
ance of  power  between  root  and  top.  Set  the 
roots  at  the  same  depth  in  the  ground  that  they 
stood  before  being  removed ;  carefully  spread 
them  out  horizontally  and  straight,  and  work 
the  soil  well  among  them  with  the  fingers. 
After  they  are  covered,  the  ground  should  be 
pressed  around  them  with  the  foot.  -  Nursery- 
rows  should  always  be  set  by  a  tight  rope,  so 


65 


that  they  may  be  straight ;  for  a  nursery-man 
who  has  his  trees  in  crooked  rows,  deserves  to 
be  called  a ,  or  some  worse  name. 

Deep  tillage  is  essential  to  the  success  of 
cultivating  trees.  Nursery  land  ought  to  be 
ploughed  and  subsoiled,  to  the  depth  of  from 
a  foot  to  twenty  inches,  and  there  is  little  dan- 
ger of  too  highly  enriching  it.  All  stones 
larger  than  a  hen's  egg  should  be  picked  off. 
The  best  nursery  land  for  fruit  trees  generally, 
is  tha«t  which  would  produce  a  hundred  bush- 
els of  Indian  Corn  to  the  acre.  Subsoil 
ploughing,  although  little  practised,  should  be 
regarded  as  almost  indispensable. 

The  highest  and  driest  land  of  a  nursery 
should  be  occupied  with  peaches  and  cherries ; 
then  pears;  still  lower  down,  apples  and 
plums;  and  lastly,  the  quince  and  grape, 
which  will  bear,  though  they  do  not  need,  a 
molster  soil  than  some  of  the  others. 


ft* 

i  c  '.•:.!'* 

SECTION    II.  % 

• 

TRANSPLANTING  TREES  OF  MEDIUM  SIZE. 

TREES  of  medium  size,  say  from  five  to  ten 
feet  high,  such  as  are  commonly  taken  from 
the  nursery  to  the  fruit-garden  or  orchard,  are 
not  generally  set  with  sufficient  care.  There 
is  no  more  false  economy  than  that  which 
does  this  work  hastily  and  imperfectly.  It 
were  much  better  not  to  attempt  this  labor  at 
all,  until  one  has  time  and  means  wherewith 
to  do  it  well. 

1st.  Preparation  of  a  place  for  setting- 
the  tree.  Dig  a  hole,  avoiding  the  sites  of  old 
trees,  five  to  seven  feet  in  diameter,  and  fif- 
teen to  twenty  inches  deep,  placing  the  sods, 
if  in  sward-land,  in  one  heap,  the  soil  in  an- 
other, and  the  subsoil  in  a  third.  The  diam- 
eter of  the  hole  ought  to  be,  at  least,  three 
times  that  of  the  clump  of  the  tree's  roots. 
Holes  of  this  size,  and,  in  deep,  rich  land,  even 
smaller  ones  will  answer.  But,  if  the  planter 
has  patience  to  dig  still  wider,  and  to  any 


67 


depth  less  than  three  feet,  he  will  find  himself 
amply  repaid,  in  the  better  growth  and  health 
of  his  trees.  If  holes  are  dug  over  twenty 
inches  deep,  they  may  be  filled  up  to  that 
depth  with  cobble  stones,  old  bones,  or  even 
gravel.  The  rest  of  the  hole  should  be  filled 
with  a  mixture  of  the  soil,  subsoil,  and  rich, 
black  loam,  or  well  rotted  compost  manure,  to 
the  height  where  it  is  proper  to  place  the  tree. 
With  the  hand  or  spade  shape  the  soil  for  the 
roots,  into  the  form  of  a  little  cone,  on  which 
to  set  the  hollow  in  the  centre  of  the  clump 
of  roots.  If  this  is  done  some  weeks,  or  even 
months,  before  setting  the  tree,  it  will  be  all 
the  better. 

2d.  Preparing  and  placing  the  tree.  If  the 
ground  is  dry,  or  if  the  roots  have  been  much 
exposed  to  the  air  since  the  tree  was  taken  up, 
soak  the  roots  and  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk 
in  water,  twelve  or  twenty- four  hours.  Cut 
off  all  bruises  and  broken  ends  of  roots  smooth- 
ly with  a  knife,  and  shorten-in  the  longest,  so 
that  the  clump  of  roots  may  have  a  somewhat 
circular  form.  In  cutting  a  root,  always  en- 
ter the  knife  upon  the  under  side,  and  bring  it 
out.  with  a  slope,  to  the  upper  side,  so  that 
the  fibres  which  may  shoot  out  from  the  edges 


68 

of  the  cut,  shall  strike  downward  into  the 
ground,  instead  of  upward,  as  they  would 
were  the  cut  made  as  it  commonly  is.  If  the 
tree  is  quite  large,  and  a  considerable  quantity 
of  its  roots  has  been  lost  in  removing  it,  its 
branches  must  be  shortened  back,  or  the  alter- 
nate buds  thinned  sufficiently  to  restore  the 
balance  of  power  between  the  parts  below  and 
those  above  the  ground,  for  reasons  already 
explained.  This  being  done,  set  the  tree  and 
gently  press  it  down  upon  the  place  designed 
for  it.  As  there  will  be  a  tendency  for  the 
tree  to  settle  down  in  its  new  location,  the 
planter  should  aim  to  -have  it  stand  higher, 
rather  than  lower  than  it  stood  previously  to 
being  moved, — remembering  that  nothing  is 
more  fatal  to  the  growth  and  health  of  a  tree, 
than  to  bury  its  roots  unnaturally  deep  in  the 
ground.  Trees  of  medium  and  large  size,  set 
upon  a  very  gentle  elevation  like  a  turtle's 
back,  succeed  admirably;  and  so,  if  a  tree 
should  by  accident  be  set  rather  too  high,  the 
ground  can  be  raised  a  little  around  it;  or,  if 
this  be  omitted,  the  roots  will  easily  strike 
downward,  whereas,  the  roots  of  a  tree  too 
deeply  set,  cannot  shoot  upward,  except  in 
the  very  offensive  form  of  suckers. 


,Q 


3d.  Filling-  up  around  the  tree.  With  good, 
rich  soil,  fill  up  under,  among,  around  and 
above  the  roots,  straightening  them  out  with 
the  fingers,  and  placing  them  in  a  fan-like 
and  natural  position,  —  being  very  cautious 
not  to  leave  any;  even  small,  hollow  places 
among  them.  If  the  root  is  one-sided,  make 
the  most  you  can  of  the  weaker  part.  At  this 
stage  of  the  work,  if  you  have  patience,  it  is 
an  excellent  plan  to  make  a  circular  dam 
around  the  edge  of  the  hole,  and  keep  it  full 
of  water,  for  a  half  hour  or  more.  In  setting 
evergreens,  this,  by  some,  is  deemed  almost 
indispensable,  unless  the  ground  is  quite 
moist.  Next,  put  in  a  little  more  earth,  pres- 
sing it  around  the  tree  with  the  foot.  After 
this,  throw  on  an  inch  or  so  of  loose  earth, 
and  the  work  is  done. 

Another  mode  of  filling  up  around  the  trees, 
called  mudding-in,  has  proved  very  success- 
ful. Make  the  circular  dam  around  the  tree 
first,  or,  as  soon  as  it  is  needed,  then  let  one 
person  slowly  sift  the  soil  into  the  hole  upon 
the  roots,  while  another  constantly  pours  in 
water,  thus  keeping  the  earth  in  a  thin,  mud- 
dy state.  This  operation  will  require  consid- 


70 

crable  time,  but  its  success  is  perhaps  more 
certain  than  that  of  any  other  mode. 

The  best  compost-manure  for  trees',  where 
the  soil  is  poor,  is  a  mixture  of  two  parts  of 
muck  or  peat-earth  with  one  part  of  barn-yard 
manure,  adding,  if  convenient,  a  small  quan- 
tity of  wood-ashes  or  pulverised  charceal.  If 
these  have  been  mixed  some  months,  or  even 
a  year  or  two  previously  to  being  used,  the 
composition  will  be  all  the  better.  Never  put 
raw  manure  in  contact  with  the  roots. 

4th.  '  After-treatment.  When  the  tree  is 
transplanted  in  the  fall  or  winter,  it  is  ex- 
tremely advantageous  to  place  a  conical 
mound,  consisting  of  from  five  to  ten  bushels 
of  soil  or  compost-manure,  close  around  the 
tree  to  save  it  from  being  disturbed  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  frost.  This  mound  should  be  re- 
moved in  the  spring.  It  is  generally  best  to 
put  a  stake  down,  to  which  the  tree  may  be 
tied,  for  the  first  season  after  being  set.  This 
ought  to  be  done  before  filling  up  the  hole,  in 
order  not  to  bruise  the  roots.  Large  cobble 
stones  laid  close  to  a  tree,  answer  quite  as 
good  a  purpose.  [See  Chapter  VII] 


71 

If  the  tree  languishes,  when  it  commences 
growing,  cover  the  ground  in  a  circle  of  three 
or  four  feet  in  diameter  around  it,  with  coarse 
straw  or  litter  from  the  barn-yard,  laying  on 
sods  or  stones  to  keep  this  from  being  blown 
away.  This  process  is  called  Mulching.  It 
keeps  the  soil  moist,  and  in  that  state  of  equa- 
ble temperature  most  favorable  to  the  growth 
of  young  roots.  Watering  on  the  surface, 
without  mulching,  is  almost  always  injurious. 
Feeble  trees  may  also  be  benefitted,  by  shading 
them  with  pine  boughs,  &c.  If,  with  all  this 
care,  the  tree  continues  still  feeble,  head  back 
its  top  yet  more  severely,  and  water  the  leaves 
and  twigs,  every  evening,  with  a  water-pot. 

If,  having  followed  all  the  above  directions, 
the  planter  still  finds  his  tree  standing  season 
after  season,  neither  growing  nor  fruiting,  but 
only  existing,  let  him  consult  his  true  interest, 
by  transferring  it  to  the  wood-pile.  Why 
cumbereth  it  the  ground? 

Nursery  trees,  five  to  eight  or  ten  feet  high, 
are  greatly  improved  by  being  taken  up  and 
re-set  in  rows  again.  Take  them  up,  shape 
the  roots,  and  head  in  and  form  the  tops.  If 
this  work  be  properly  done,  the  value  of  the 
trees  will  double  in  two  years. 


72 

Small  and  medium-sized  trees  may  be  trans- 
planted, with  certain  success,  and  without 
suffering  scarcely  a  perceptible  check,  by  the 
mode  of  Balling  described  in  the  next  section. 


SECTION    III. 

TRANSPLANTING  LARGE  TREES. 

OWING  to  the  humid  atmosphere  of  England, 
large  trees  of  the  forest  and  the  orchard,  are 
frequently  transplanted  there  without  scarcely 
airy  risk  of  losing  them.  Here,  the  chances  of 
succeeding  are  greatly  lessened,  by  the  hot 
penetrating  rays  of  the  sun,  and  the  conse- 
quent transpiration  of  the  trees.  With  suita- 
ble apparatus,  however,  and  at  no  great 
expense,  our  large  fruit  trees  may 'be  re-set,  in 
a  manner  similar  to  that  just  described  for 
medium-sized  trees.  But  the  cheaper  and 
safer  mode  is  that  called  Balling.  This  mode 
is  as  follows  : — 

1st.  Hole  for  receiving  the  tree.  This 
should  be  dug,  in  the  fall,  before  the  ground 
is  frozen.  It  should  be  made,  say  not  less 
than  from  twenty  to  thirty  inches  deep,  and 
at  least  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter  larger 
than  the  circular  mass,  hereafter  described, 
containing  the  roots  of  the  tree. 


74 

2d.  Removing  the  tree.  At  a  distance  from 
tho  trunk  of  the  tree,  of  from  two  to  five  feet, 
according  as  its  diameter  is  from  five  to  twelve 
or  fourteen  inches,  dig  a  circular  ditch  around 
it,  eighteen  to  thirty  inches  deep;  smoothly 
cutting  off  all  the  lateral  roots,  close  to  the 
central  mass  of  earth.  This  ditch,  dug  late 
in  autumn,  must  be  kept  free  from  snow,  un- 
til the  enclosed  ball  containing  the  roots  of  the 
tree,  is  thoroughly  frozen.  With  iron-bars 
and  levers,  force  up  this  circular  mass  .of 
earth,  and  place  two  or  more  strong  skids  un- 
der it.  By  means  of  a  strong  set  of  pulleys, 
with  oxen  attached,  if  necessary,  the  mass  of 
earth,  and  the  tree  altogether,  must  be  drawn 
over  the  skids  up  out  of  the  hole,  upon  a  stone- 
boat  or  sled,  the  tree  standing  vertically,  just 
as  it  grew.  Thus  loaded  and  secured,  it  may 
easily  be  drawn  to  the  spot  selected  for  it. 

3d.  Placing  the  tree.  Measure  the  depth 
of  the  ball  containing  the  roots  of  the  tree,  and 
fill  up  the  prepared  hole  to  such  a  height,  that 
the  tree,  when'  placed  in  it,  may  stand  quite 
as  high  above  the  surrounding  ground,  as  it 
did  before  it  was  taken  up.  Next,  lay  strong 
skids  from  the  sled  or  stone-boat,  into  the 
hole,  and  slide  the  tree  carefully  into  it,  using, 


75 

if  necessary,  two  sets  of  pulleys,  for  this  is 
heavy  work.  Raise  np  with  a  lever,  and 
block  the  mass  of  earth,  until  the  tree  stands 
properly  erect,  and  then  carefully  fill  in,  all 
around  and  under  it,  with  good  soil  enriched 
with  compost  manure.  The  earth  for  this 
purpose  should  be  kept  protected  from  frost, 
either  under  boards  and  straw,  by  the  side  of 
the  hole,  or  in  barrels,  in  some  barn  or  cellar. 
The  top  of  the  tree  ought,  of  course,  to  be 
headed-in,  if  much  of  the  root  is  taken  off.  If 
deemed  necessary,  the  tree,  for  the  first  and 
second  seasons  after  its  removal,  may  be  kept 
supported  by  three  long  heavy  stakes  or  poles, 
set  triangularly,  slanting,  and  bound  against 
the  trunk  of  it.  Give  it  a  good  mulching  the 
first  summer,  and  it  will  be  almost  certain  to 
live;  and,  when  you  gather  its  fruit  or  sit  be- 
neath its  shade,  and  listen  to  the  songs  of  birds 
among  its  boughs,  you  will  feel  repaid  an 
hundred  fold  for  the  trouble  and  expense, 
attending  its  removal. 


CHAPTER    V. 


PRUNING. 

TREES  which  have  been  properly  formed  in 
the  nursery,  will  afterward  need  but  little 
farther  pruning,  except  to  remove  suckers, 
broken  limbs,  and  dead  wood.  This  and 
other  light  pruning,  may  be  done  late  in  the 
winter,  early  in  the  spring,  or  in  the  latter 
part  of  June,  just  as  it  will  best  suit  one's 
convenience. 

What  is  called  very  heavy  pruning,  should 
always  be  avoided,  if  possible;  but,  when 
really  necessary,  it  should  be  done  in  the  win- 
ter or  early  in  the  spring. 

To  form  the  head  of  a  large  tree,  which  has 
been  neglected  for  years,  requires  much  judg- 
ment, caution  and  skill,  it  is  labor  that  ought 
never  to  be  entrusted  to  inexperienced  hands. 

In  countries  where  trees  are  trained  upon 
the  sides  of  walls,  fences  or  trellises,  pruning 
is  reduced  to  a  science ;  but  here  little  is  at- 
tempted, in  this  way,  except  to  promote  the 


77 


growth,  to  improve  the  form,  or  to  increase  the 
fruitfulness  of  trees.  Pruning  ought  to  be 
performed  with  sharp  tools.  When  the  saw 
is  used,  the  ends  of  the  limbs  should  after- 
wards be  carefully  pared  with  a  knife.  They 
should  then  be  covered  with  some  composi- 
tion to  protect  them  from  the  weather. 
Downing's  Gum-Shellac  is  admirably  adapt- 
ed to  this  purpose.  This  preparation  is  made 
by  dissolving  a  quantity  of  the  gum  in  alco- 
hol, so  that  the  composition  shall  be  of  the 
consistency  of  thin  molasses.  The  liquid 
should  be  kept  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle,  the 
cork  of  which  should  have  a  wire  (running 
through  it  into  the  bottle,)  with  a  sponge  at- 
tached to  the  end  of  it. 

Thus  prepared,  the  composition  may  be 
very  conveniently  applied,  wherever  it  may 
be  needed.  We  cannot  too  highly  recommend 
this  preparation  for  the  purposes  for  which  it 
is  designed. 

I.   PRUNING  TO  IMPROVE  THE  GROWTH  AND  FORM 
OF  A  TREE. 

THE  growth  and  health  of  a  tree  may  be 
greatly  improved,  and   its  form  rendered  far 
5 


78 

more  comely  and  beautiful,  by  a  proper  and 
seasonable  pruning. 

1st.  Heading-in.  Trees  are  headed  back, 
in  order  to  restore  a  balance  of  power  between 
the  root  and  the  top.  We  have  already  ex- 
plained this  in  the  Chapter  on  Transplanting. 
Feeble  trees  of  all  sizes  are  benefitted  by  this 
treatment.  When  a  large  tree  is  to  be  grafted 
over,  it  may  be  headed  back,  if  you  choose,  a 
year  or  two  previously,  and  the  scions  or  buds 
may  be  inserted  into  the  young,  thrifty  shoots 
that  will  be  emitted  from  the  ends  of  the  limbs 
where  they  were  sawed  off.  By  judicious 
grafting  and  pruning  of  these,  a  new,  hand- 
some, and  very  valuable  top  may  be  put  upon 
an  old  and  apparently  worthless  tree:  but  you 
must  not  forget  to  dig  and  enrich  the  soil 
around  its  roots,  at  the  same  time.  Young 
trees,  two  or  three  years  from  the  seed,  or  one 
year  from  the  graft,  are  not  unfrequently  head- 
ed down  to  two  or  three  buds,  on  purpose  to 
strengthen  their  growth.  A  single  bud  is  then 
trained  vertically,  and  the  rest  pruned  away 
in  the  course  of  the  summer.  In  such  cases, 
the  growth  of  the  top  being  attended  with  a 
corresponding  increase  of  fibrous  roots,  the 
tree  at  once  becomes  vigorous  and  healthy. 


79 

Peach  trees,  in  our  climate,  are  highly  ben- 
efitted,  by  thus  shortening-in  annually,  in  the 
spring,  one-half,  or  thereabouts,  of  their  entire 
growth  of  the  previous  summer,  all  over  the 
heads  of  the  trees. 

Dwarf-pears  on  quince,  also  require  a  simi- 
lar heading-in,  annually  each  spring,  so  long 
as  they  continue  to  make  a  growth  of  scions. 

2d.  Pruning  to  improve  a  tree's  form. 
This  is  quite  a  matter  of  taste.  Shortening- 
in  may  be  made  subservient  to  this  end,  by 
cutting  so  as  to  leave  a  wood-bud  just  below 
the  cut,  on  that  side  of  a  twig  or  limb  which 
is  farthest  from  the  central  parts  of  the  tree, 
or  which  faces  the  direction  in  which  it  is  de- 
sirable that  the  limb  should  extend  its  growth. 

A  tree  may  branch  out  too  low  or  too  high ; 
its  top  may  be  too  open  or  too  crowded.  The 
iimbs  also  may  cross  each  other  in  such  a 
way  as  to  give  a  disagreeable,  tangled  appear- 
ance to  the  head  of  the  tree.  It  is  always 
best  to  inspect  a  tree  carefully,  before  com- 
mencing operations,  and  then  to  proceed  de- 
liberately ;  for  one  hasty  cut  may  impair  the 
beauty  of  a  tree  forever. 

The  lower  side  limbs  of  young  trees,  in  the 
nursery,  ought  to  be  cut  in,  at  first,  to  an  inch 


80 

or  two  from  the  trunk;  the  next  year,  they 
may  be  cut  in  closely.  Trimming  up  a  small 
tree  to  a  tall,  smooth  trunk,  too  suddenly,  has 
a  tendency  to  weaken  its  constitution,  and  to 
permanently  injure  it. 

When  the  fruit  cultivator  does  not  do  this 
with  his  own  hands,  he  should  take  especial 
care  to  whom  he  entrusts  it.  Some  cultivators 
consider  the  whole  family  of  pruning  tools  as 
a  nuisance,  arguing  that,  by  attending  to  the 
trees  in  season,  the  whole  business  of  pruning 
can  be  accomplished,  by  the  thumb  and  finger 
only, — pinching  off,  in  the  bud,  what  in  fu- 
ture years  might  make  work  for  the  saw  or 

knife. 

kaii'i* 

II.       PRUNING  TO  INDUCE  FRUITFULNESS. 

Scientific  primers  have  the  power  to  extort 
from  their  trees  large  crops  of  fruit.  But  they 
well  understand,  that  it  is  not  always  their 
true  interest  to  exercise  their  skill  for  this  pur- 
pose. Nor  is  this  without  reason:  for  erro- 
neous opinions  prevail  in  regard  to  the 
productiveness  of  trees.  The  sap  that  pro- 
duces fruit,  is  so  much  withdrawn  from  that 
general  circulation  which  causes  the  growth 


81 

of  wood  and  leaves.  Consequently,  whatever 
treatment  a  tree  receives,  calculated  to  ob- 
struct the  flow  of  the  sap.  or  to  accumulate  it 
at  any  point,  causes  the  formation  of  blossom- 
buds,  and  the  subsequent  production  of  fruit. 
There  are  a  variety  of  modes  to  accomplish 
this,  which  will  be  described  in  the  proper 
place.  This  end  is-  attained  by  pruning, — 

1st.  By  pruning  the  top.  Hence  the  excel- 
lent practice,  above  described,  of  shortening-in 
the  Peach,  Nectarine,  and  Apricot,  has  this 
farther  desirable  result  of  causing  the  sap  to 
collect  in  the  remainder  of  the  branches. 
While  we  thus  diminish  the  bearing  wood, 
and  of  course  the  number  of  specimens  of  the 
fruit,  we  greatly  enhance  the  valuable  of  the 
crop.  For  one  large  peach — and  it  is  gener- 
ally true  of  other  fruits — is  worth  twice  its 
weight  of  smaller  ones  of  the  same  variety. 
A  similar  shortening-in  of  trained  fruit  trees, 
practised  in  England,  at  mid-summer,  causes 
fruitfuiness,  upon  the  same  principle.  Thin- 
ning out  the  crowded  head  of  a  large  tree, 
also  has  the  same  effect,  the  superabundance 
of  sap,  supplied  by  the  roots  and  trunk,  indu- 
cing the  growth  both  of  wood  and  fruit5  in 
the  remaining  parts. 


82 

2d.  By  pruning  the  root.  This  mode  of 
stunting  the  growth  of  a  tree,  and  thereby 
causing  that  accumulation  of  sap  in  the 
branches,  necessary  to  the  formation  of  fruit- 
buds,  is  one  of  the  very  best  ways  of  inducing 
fruitfulness  that  we  are  acquainted  with. 
This  work  may  be  done  in  autumn,  in  winter, 
or  early  in  the  spring. 

At  a  few  feet  from  the  trunk  of  the  tree, 
varying  the  distance  according  to  its  size,  dig 
a  circular  ditch  around  it,  eighteen  or  twenty 
inches  deep,  cutting  off  all  the  lateral  roots 
smoothly,  close  to  the  circular  mass  of  earth 
in  which  the  tree  stands,  removing  the  outer 
pieces  of  roots,  from  the  surrounding  ground, 
as  much  as  can  be  done  conveniently.  Fill 
up  the  trench,  with  good,  rich  soil,  and  the 
tree  will,  in  this  country,  generally  be  brought 
into  a  permanent  fruit-bearing  state.  Repeat- 
ing the  operation  annually,  apples,  pears,  and 
other  fruit  trees  may  be  rendered  productive 
dwarfs,— even  so  as  to  be  planted  only  six  or 
eight  feet  apart.  And,  if  at  the  same  time,  we 
apply  the  shortening-in  process  above  describ- 
ed, they  may  be  kept  in  a  beautiful  pyramidal 
form,  and  rendered  very  profitable. 

J       '  ,.»  :  %r  ' 


83 

There  are  some  important  advantages  aris- 
ing from  this  practice. 

1.  Root-pruned  dwarfs  will  do  well  in  the 
poorest  land,  provided  they  have  a  few  bush- 
els of  good  earth  under  and  around  them. 

2.  They  may  be  transplanted  as  safely  and 
almost  as  easily  as  a  geranium  may  be  re- 
potted. 

Trees  dwarfed  by  grafting,  [see  Chap.  II. , 
Sec.  2d,]  may  be  rendered  still  more  diminu- 
tive, by  this  practice ;  but  caution  is  necessary, 
for  it  is  easy  to  overdo  this  work,  and  thus 
to  enfeeble  and  finally  destroy  what  we  in- 
tended to  improve. 

Any  fruit  tree,  in  a  languishing  condition, 
by  a  combined  application  of  root-pruning 
with  a  somewhat  severe  heading-in  of  the  top, 
may  be  wonderfully  renewed  in  health  and 
vigor. 


Dl     "§'  \ 


CHAPTER  VI. 


TRAINING. 
* 

This  constitutes  more  than  one  half  the 
labor  of  an  English  fruit  gardener.  In  the 
United  States,  out  of  the  vicinity  of  Boston, 
it  is  but  very  little  practiced,  and,  except  in 
the  extreme  northern  parts  of  the  country,  it 
is  not  to  be  recommended  to  the  economical 
cultivator. 

1.  Training  upon  a,  trellis  or  wall.  The 
British  gardeners  train  their  trees  perfectly 
flat.  Taste  and  ingenuity  may  weary  them- 
selves, in  varying  this  mode  of  forming  trees. 
But  taste  will  always  have  a  regard  for  a 
symmetrical  regularity,  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  branches  of  the  tree,  and  ingenuity  ought 
in  all  cases  to  conform  to  the  requisitions  of 
taste. 

The  branches  may  be  trained  regularly 
downward,  horizontally,  or  upward  in  a 
fanlike  manner.  It  ought  to  be  borne  in 
mind,  in  pruning  to  shape  a  tree,  that 


85 

whenever  a  twig  is  cut  off,  the  buds  on  it 
below  the  cut,  have  a  tendency  to  turn  into 
limbs.  The  same  operation  may  again  be 
performed  upon  these  limbs,  and  so  on.  A 
knowledge  of  this  fact,  a  skillful  hand,  and 
good  taste  to  guide  it,  will  ensure  success  in 
all  the  modes  of  training  which  an  American 
will  wish  to  practice. 

Out-door  grapes  may  be  easily  trained  in  a 
fan-shaped  form,  having  but  one  smooth  trunk 
coming  out  of  the  ground,  and  branching  at 
from  one  to  three  feet  high;  or  two  branches 
only  may  be  suffered  to  grow  horizontally, 
like  two  arms,  and,  from  those  parallel 
perpendicular  shoots  may  be  trained  upward, 
at  equal  intervals  from  each  other.  Another 
pair  of  arms  may  be  made  three  or  five  feet 
higher  up,  and  perpendiculars  also  trained 
from  these  as  before.  Late  in  the  autumn,  or 
in  the  winter  of  each  year,  cut  down  these 
perpendiculars,  to  within  two  or  three  buds 
(or  eyes  as  they  are  called,)  of  the  horizontal 
arms,  and  in  the  following  summer  train  up 
other  new  shoots,  precisely  as  before,  suffer- 
ing only  one  shoot  to  grow  in  a  place. 
When  these  perpendiculars  have  fairly  set 


their  fruit,  pinch  off  their  tip  ends,  for  the 
purpose  of  forcing  the  sap  into  the  fruit. 

This  may  seem  severe  pruning,  but,  if  you 
desire  fruit,  instead  of  wood  and  leaves,  you 
will  find  your  account  in  it.  The  health  and 
longevity  of  the  vine  does  not  seem  to  suffer 
at  all,  by  this  treatment.  The  grape,  cultivat- 
ed under  glass,  is  even  more  subjected  to  the 
knife,,  than  it  is  in  this  mode  of  open  culture. 
[See  Allen's  Treatise  on  the  Grape  Vine.] 

Late  autumn,  or  winter,  is  the  best  season 
to  do  this  work,  so  far  as  the  knife  is  employed 
in  it.  The  vine,  and  all  other  trees  that  are 
inclined  to  bleed,  should  receive  their  heavy 
pruning  at  this  season,  and  their  very  light 
trimmings  in  mid-summer. 

The  vine,  and  other  trained  trees,  are  fas- 
tened to  their  trellises,  or  to  the  sides  of  walls 
or  buildings,  by  means  of  shreds  of  bass- 
matting,  twine,  or  leather  loops  put  round 
them  and  nailed.  The  walls  or  trellises  should 
face  the  south  or  south-west,  in  preference  to 
other  points  of  compass. 

It  is  haidly  within  the  province  of  this  little 
work,  to  enter  into  a  more  particular  descrip- 
tion of  the  training  of  trees  upon  walls  and 
trellises.  Those  who  desire  to  investigate  the 


subject  further,  will  find  details  of  the  modes 
of  operating,  in  English  horticultural  publi- 
cations. A  mode  new  of  training  fruit  trees, 
practiced  in  the  north  of  Russia,  is  well 
deserving  of  trial  in  the  colder  parts  of  New 
England,  especially  for  cultivating  the  peach. 
A  tree,  one  year  from  the  graft,  is  headed 
down  to  two  healthy,  strong  wood-buds. 
These  are  trained  horizontally,  about  ten  or 
twelve  inches  from  the  ground,  to  a  south 
wall; — perhaps  the  north  side  of  a  wall 
might  do  quite  as  well,  in  our  more  changea- 
climate.  These  arms  are  suffered  to  throw 
up  vertical  shoots,  which  become  covered  witji 
fruit-spurs.  These  vertical  shoots  are  kept 
shortened-in,  to  a  length  of  not  more  than 
about  one  or  two  feet ;  and  these  with  the  two 
horizontal  arms  from  which  they  spring,  and 
the  short  trunk  of  about  ten  to  fourteen  inches, 
in  length,  constitute  all  there  is  of  the  tree 
above  ground.  The  whole  tree  may  be 
covered,  through  the  winter,  with  two  feet  or 
more  of  soil  heaped  over  it,  with  a  deep  bank 
of  snow,  or  with  straw,  evergreen  boughs,  or 
the  like. 

We  have  had  a  similar  experiment  repeatedly 
try  itself,  in  our  garden,  where  a  low  limb  of 


88 

a  peach  happened  to  pass  the  winter  under  a 
snow-drift.  This  branch  would  show  a  beau.- 
tiful  festoon  of  fruit,  the  following  summer, 
while  all  the  rest  of  the  tree,  having  dropped 
its  frozen  blossom-buds,  would  remain  through 
the  season,  like  the  fig-tree  of  the  parable, 
having  "  nothing  thereon  but  leaves  only." 

Instead  of  only  two  arms,  the  Russians, 
with  equal  success,  sometimes  plant  the  tree 
in  open  ground  away  from  a  wall,  and  train 
similar  arms  out  in  every  direction,  like  the 
spokes  of  a  horizontal  wheel,  tying  them  down 
thus  to  trellises  made  for  the  purpose.  The 
apple,  the  plum,  the  cherry  have  been,  and 
perhaps  all  fruits  might  be  cultivated  in  this 
way.  A  reflecting  mind  will  easily  <take 
hints  from  these  practices,  and  vary  the  mode 
of  operating  to  suit  the  circumstances  of  any 
tree  that  it  may  be  desirable  to  subject  to  such 
or  a  similar  regimen.  This  mode  of  training 
has  other  advantages.  The  fruit  is  less 
exposed  to  the  wind,  the  trees  also  come 
earlier  into  bearing,  and  it  has  been  noticed 
that  they  are  less  persecuted  by  insects. 

2.     Training    of    Standard    Trees.      In 
Chapter  Vth,  (on  Pruning^)  we  have  given 


89 


some  general  directions  for  forming  standard 
trees,  and  regulating  their  growth. 

Except  for  the  dwarf  pear,  this  work  does 
not  need  to  be  done  in  this  country.  We 
have  thought  it  best  to  describe  the  mode  of 
pruning  dwarf  pears,  in  the  part  of  the  book 
treating  of  those  trees.  [See  Part  II.  Section 
on  Dwarf  Pears.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

SECTION    I. 

PURCHASING,  PACKING,  FORWARDING,  AND  RECEIVING 
TREES,  GRAFTS,  &C.  &C. 

Purchasing  Trees.  What  has  thus  far 
been  written,  will,  we  hope,  prove  serviceable 
to  those  who  purchase  trees  at  the  nurseries. 
For  the  benefit  of  persons  who  have  little 
experience,  we  will  now  recapitulate,  and  add 
some  further  general  directions  for  buying 
fruit  trees. 

1.  Do  not  buy  of  pedlars  or  irresponsible 
persons.  Such  dealers  may  offer  you  trees 
which  have  received  exposure  sufficient  to 
cause  their  death,  before  they  are  put  into 
your  hands ;  or  the  trees  may  be  labelled  as 
one  thing,  even  when  the  vender  knows  them 
to  be  something  else  comparatively  valueless. 


91 


2.  Select,  although  at  a  higher  price,  trees 
which  have  been  re-set  twice  or  (better  yet) 
three   times  since  they  came  frorn  the  seed. 
You  will  find  that  such  plants  possess  much 
finer    roots    than  others,  and  that  they  will 
suffer  far  less  check  from  another  transplant- 
ing. 

3.  In  general,  avoid  trees  which  made  but 
little   growth,   the   summer   proceeding  your 
purchase. 

4.  Observe    where    the    tree    is    grafted. 
Generally,  the  nearer  this  point  is  to  the  fruit- 
bearing  parts  the  better.    We  should,  however, 
rather   prefer   trees   grafted   at  or  below  the 
surface   of    the   ground   to   those  where  the 
operation  was  performed  between  that  point 
and  the  point  of  branching-out.     But  a  fine 
healthy   tree  worked   at  any   point,    is    not 
simply  on  that  account  to  be  rejected. 

5.  The  trunk  of  the  tree  should  be  straight, 
smooth,  and  stocky.  It  should  branch  out,  at 
the  proper  height,  and  the  branches  should 
extend  upward  and  outward,  forming  a  hand- 
some open  top.  If  the  limbs  are  crooked, 
entangled,  crowded  and  crosswise  of  each 
other,  it  may  be  difficult  for  you  ever  to  get 
them  into  the  form  you  wish,  and  therefore 


92 

it  is  not  advisable  to  purchase  a  tree  of  that 
description. 

6.  Avoid  trees  of  which  the  grafted  part,  is 
growing   larger  than  the  stock.     This  is  an 
e\ril  that  will  increase,  and,  unless  the  point 
of  junction  is  at  or  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground,    the  tree   will   disappoint  any    very 
favorable  expectations  that  its  cultivator  may 
cherish  in  regard  to  it. 

7.  Do  not  be  tempted  by  a  cheap  price  to 
buy  a  diseased  tree.     Unless  you  are  a  very 
skilful  cultivator,  you  will  find  much  more 
profit  a'nd  pleasure,  in  taking  care  of  healthy 
trees,    than    in   endeavoring   to   nurse   those 
which  are  sickly.     A  nurseryman  of  the  first 
rank  in  his  business,   will  hardly  offer  such 
trees  for  sale,  at  any  price. 

Packing  Trees,  Grafts,  &c.  The  trees 
having  been  taken  up  carefully,  lay  them  up- 
on the  ground,  placing  their  roots  even  with 
each  other,  and  interlocking  the  branches  so 
as  to  get  them  as  compactly  together  as  possi- 
ble. With  old  ship-rope,  or  any  soft  cord, 
bind  the  package  firmly  together,  tying  one 
cord  around  close  to  the  roots,  and  one  or  two 
more  around  the  branches ;  then  immerse  the 
roots  in  very  muddy  clay  water,  so  as  to  give 
them  a  coating  of  earth. 


93 

Next,  let  one  person  hold  the  bundle  on  end, 
the  roots  resting  upon  a  bass-mat.  Sprinkle 
among  and  around  the  roots,  a  mixture  of 
moss  and  wet  straw ;  then  tie,  or  sew  the 
matting  over  them,  so  as  to  completely  pro- 
tect them  from  exposure.  The  remainder  of 
the  bundle  may  be  covered  with  rye  straw 
laid  longitudinally  and  bound  around  it  with 
twine  or  old  ship-yarn ;  or  the  entire  package 
may  be  sewed  up,  like  the  roots,  in  bass-mats. 
When  trees  are  to  be  sent  a  very  great  dis- 
tance, and  of  course  are  to  be  out  of  the 
ground  a  long  while,  their  roots,  after  being 
immersed  in  the  clay  water,  are  suffered  to 
get  dry,  and  then  the  trees  are  packed  imme- 
diately in  boxes,  and  the  interstices  among  the 
branches  and  roots  are  filled  with  dry  moss. 
Trees  are  very  successfully  brought  across 
the  Atlantic  in  this  way.  It  ought  to  be  borne 
in  mind,  that  it  is  death  to  the  roots  of  a  tree 
to  suffer  them  to  freeze,  out  of  the  ground,  and 
that  it  is  injurious  to  allow  them  to  get  quite 
dry,  in  the  air.  Either  exposure  is  entirely 
fatal  to  the  class  of  evergreens. 

Where  trees  are  sent  only  two  or  three  days' 
journey,  their  roots  may  be  packed  in  wet 
moss.     Scions  may  be  packed  in  boxes  of 
6 


94 

sand  or  dry  moss ;  buds  should  be  put  into 
moss  only.  Fruit  is  best  put  up,  for  long 
transportion,  in  layers  of  cotton-batting,  and 
closely  packed  thus  by  hand,  in  clean  tight 
boxes. 

Receiving  Trees,  fyc.  On  receiving  trees 
from  a  distance,  examine  the  roots.  If  these 
are  moist  and  fresh,  they  are  in  a  proper  con- 
dition for  setting.  But,  if  they  appear  dry 
or  shrivelled,  soak  them  in  water,  (if  frozen,  in 
very  cold  water,)  from  six  to  twenty-four 
hours.  If  the  trees  have  suffered  so  much 
that  their  tops  also  are  shrivelled,  it  will  be 
well  to  put  the  whole  package  under  water 
for  a  few  hours.  After  this  take  them  out, 
head-in  the  tops,  using  as  much  severity  as 
the  previous  exposure  of  the  package  would 
seem  to  require.  The  trees  should  then  be 
set,  (see  Transplanting,)  and  the  ground 
ought  to  be  mulched,  for  the  first  season. 
Should  the  ground  not  be  ready  for  planting 
out  the  trees,  lay  them  in  by  the  heels,  as  it  is 
called ;  that  is,  dig  a  trench  and  put  the  roots 
of  the  trees  into  it,  letting  the  tops  stand  up- 
right, or  lean  down  quite  slanting,  as  you  may 
find  it  the  most  convenient ;  then  bury  the 
roots  in  the  ground,  and  the  trees  may  remain 


95 

for  weeks,  and,  if  they  are  received  in  the  fall, 
even  through  winter,  withoiit  injury.  Trees 
heeled-in  in  the  fall,  should  be  put  down  quite 
deep,  and  the  tenderer  sorts,  especially  if  they 
have  come  from  southern  nurseries,  should 
lie  in  a  very  sloping  manner,  having  their 
tops  protected  by  coarse  litter  or  straw.  It  is 
still  better  to  open  a  deep  trench,  in  a  perfect- 
ly dry  spot  of  which  the  texture  admits  of 
easy  filtration.  Let  the  depth  of  the  trench 
he  some  three  or  four  feet,  and  the  width  suf- 
ficient to  contain  what  trees  you  may  have. 
Place  the  trees,  root  and  branch,  horizontally 
in  the  trench,  filling  in,  among  them,  with 
light  sand  or  vegetable  mould.  After  this, 
cover  the  whole,  to  the  depth  of  two  feet,  with 
earth.  In  extremely  cold  latitudes,  the  trees 
ought  to  be  buried  still  deeper. 

Southern  trees  may  also  be  kept  through  a 
northern  winter,  by  heeling  them  in  in  a  cel- 
lar. They  may  also  be  brought  from  the 
south,  early  in  the  spring,  and  heeled-in  in 
a  cellar,  till  the  weather  shall  admit  of  putting 
them  in,  out  of  doors;  or,  if  well  packed,  they 
may  remain  in  packages  in  a  cool  dark  cellar, 
for  two  or  three  weeks,  quite  safely.  South- 
ern trees,  excepting  perhaps  the  pear,  properly 


taken  up,  properly  forwarded,  and  properly 
treated  when  received,  are  not  much  inferior 
to  trees  which  are  grown  here.  Those  which 
are  generally  brought  here,  have  been  raised 
under  high  cultivation;  and  the  purchaser 
not  keeping  up  the  same  forcing  culture,  the 
trees  have  languished  and  died.  Thousands 
of  fine  southern  trees  have  also  been  lost,  by 
other  kinds  of  erroneous  treatment  which  they 
have  received,  before  and  after  coming  into 
the  purchaser's  possession. 

We  may  add,  here,  in  this  connection^ 
that  a  root  of  a  tree  may  be  weakened  by  ex- 
posure, as  well  as  by  diminishing  its  size ; 
and,  therefore,  a  regard  should  be  had  to  both 
these  conditions,  when  we  head-in  its  top, 
to  restore  a  balance  of  power  between  the  root 
and  branch. 


SECTION    II. 

SOILS,  MANURES,  LOCATION   OF   ORCHARDS,  &C.  &C. 

Soils.  Downing  says  a  strong  loam,  that 
is,  a  loam  having  just  sufficient  inter-mixture 
of  sand  to  make  it  easily  worked,  is  by  far 
the  best  soil  for  a  fruit-garden  or  orchard.  A 
farmer  will  be  less  likely  to  misunderstand,  if 
we  should  recommend,  as  the  best  general 
soil  for  an  orchard,  that  which  will  produce 
seventy  to  one  hundred  bushels  of  Indian  corn 
to  the  acre. 

This  kind  of  soil,  and  also  that  which  is 
called  a  clayey  loam,  derives  great  benefit 
from  the  subsoil  plough,  or,  what  is  far  more 
expensive  as  it  is  also  much  better,  trenching 
and  mixing  the  sub  and  upper  soils  together, 
say  for  a  depth  of  from  eighteen  inches  to 
two  feet.  Whoever  is  willing  to  be  at  the 
expense  of  this  work,  in  a  small  fruit-garden, 
will  find  himself  repaid  by  the  beneficial 
effects  which  the  labor  will  have  upon  the 
growth  and  health  of  his  trees. 


98 

Where  the  sub-soil  is  sand  or  gravel,  top- 
dressing  with  a  little  clay  and  a  generous 
quantity  of  well-rotted  manure,  is  the  best 
treatment. 

When  the  whole  garden  or  field  cannot  be 
worked  over,  in  this  way,  a  large  proportion 
of  the  benefit  may  be  derived,  from  preparing 
a  place  six  to  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  around 
and  under  each  tree  according  to  its  size. 

Low,  flat  land,  spongey  or  peaty  soils,  par- 
ticularly in  our  cold  climate,  are  very  unfavor- 
able to  the  growth  of  fruit.  Something, 
however,  may  be  accomplished,  even  in  such 
locations,  by  setting  the  trees  quite  high,  and 
placing  under  them  in  the  holes  a  drainage  of 
small  stones  and  gravel ;  and  by  mixing  with 
the  soil  a  quantity  of  sand,  so  as  to  diminish 
the  amount  of  moisture,  and  to  increase  the 
warmth  which  the  roots  may  need  to  enjoy. 

General  Manure  for  Fruit  Trees.  The 
best  manure  for  fruit  trees  in  general,  is 
composed  of  about  equal  parts  of  meadow 
mud,  muck,  or  peaty  earth,  and  common 
stable  manure.  A  small  quantity  of  wood 
ashes,  say  four  bushels  to  a  cart-load  of 
manure,  and  charcoal  dust  in  about  the  same 
ratio,  may  be  intermixed  with  this  composi- 


99 

tion,  to  great  advantage.  This  manure  will 
be  greatly  improved  by  having  been  prepared 
and  well  worked  over,  some  months  previous- 
ly to  using  it. 

Half  a  peck  of  bone-dust  and  a  little  lime, 
well  mixed  with  the  soil  when  setting  a  tree, 
or  from  a  peck  to  a  bushel  of  old  broken 
bones,  put  into  the  bottom  of  the  hole,  before 
setting,  will  produce  the  most  satisfactory 
results  for  years  to  come.  Almost  any  well 
composted  manure  suitable  for  corn,  will  also 
answer  for  fruit  trees.  $  |# 

Where  meadow-hay,  straw,  or  sea-weed 
(or  sedge)  is  cheap,  an  annual  mulching  with 
these  will  be  found  extremely  beneficial. 

Specific  Manures.  Much  attention  has 
been  bestowed  upon  this  subject,  within  a  few 
years.  When  the  soil  and  exposure  are 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  any  tree,  the  very 
best  specific  manure  or  fertilizer  for  it,  is 
unquestionably  the  debris  (or  perfectly  decay- 
ed particles)  of  a  tree  of  the  same  species. 

There  are,  however,  far  more  available 
fertilizers  than  these.  We  are  indebted  to 
Downing's  Horticulturist  chiefly,  for  what 
we  shall  say  further  upon  this  subject. 


100 

The  Apple.  A  peck  of  air- slaked  lime  to 
a  tree,  scattered  and  slightly  hoed  in  under 
it  in  autumn,  in  a  circle  of  six  or  twelve  feet 
in  diameter,  according  to  the  size  of  the  tree, 
will  generally  answer.  This  application,  and 
an  equal  quantity  of  wood  ashes,  applied 
each  alternate  autumn,  with  a  top-dressing  of 
the  general  compost  manure  above-described 
will  keep  an  apple  tree  in  fine  condition,  so 
far  as  it  is  influenced  by  the  soil. 

The  Pear.  A  small  quantity  of  rusty  iron 
among  the  roots  of  the  pear,  gives  a  fine 
healthy  appearance  to  the  tree.  Another — 
dissolve  a  pound  of  potash  -in  water,  and 
thoroughly  water  two  bushels  of  swamp 
earth  or  muck  with  it.  Let  it  lie,  two  or  three 
days,  and  then  put  a  top-dressing  of  about  a 
bushel  of  this  compost  to  a  tree. 

The  Peach.  Apply  half  a  peck  of  old 
rusty  iron,  lightly  hoed  in  close  around  the 
tree.  A  half  pint  of  common  salt  applied 
annually,  is  also  beneficial  to  the  peach,  and 
nectarine. 

The  Plum.  A  quart  of  common  salt  and 
three  quarts  of  lime  applied,  in  the  autumn 
of  each  year,  as  a  top-dressing,  will  keep  a 


101 

middling  sized  tree  in  fine  condition.  Of  the 
two,  the  salt  is  more  essential  than  the  lime. 
The  branches  and  trunk  may  be  watered 
with  weak  brine,  occasionally  to  much  advan- 
tage. 

The  Chewy.  The  general  compost  manure, 
with  the  addition  of  sand  where  the  subsoil  is 
clayey. 

The  Qtiince.  The  same  as  for  the  apple, 
with  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  salt, 
applied  as  to  the  plum. 

We  know  of  no  better  fertilizers  for  other 
fruit  trees  and  orchards,  than  the  compost  or 
general  manure,  above  described.  Indeed, 
those  which  we  have  just  described  may  not 
be  the  best.  The  whole  theory  and  applica- 
tion of  specific  fertilizers,  is  as  yet  very 
imperfectly  understood. 

Location  of  Orchards.  The  tops  of  very 
high  hills,  and  low  sandy  plains,  are  not 
favorable  locations  for  an  orchard.  The  hill- 
sides are  the  preferable  land  for  fruit,  as  they 
are  for  almost  every  other  crop.  Downing 
prefers  those  slopes  which  look  toward  the 
south-west;  others  consider  other  aspects 
equally  favorable.  But,  while  we  would 
concur  in  Downing's  preference,  we  should  by 


102 


no  means  hesitate  to  plant  a  fruit-orchard 
even  upon  a  northern  slope,  if  convenience 
should  require  it ;  for  fine,  flourishing  fruit 
trees  of  every  species,  may  be  found  growing 
in  every  possible  exposure,  both  as  regards 
the  sun  and  the  wind. 

Orchard  Position  of  Trees.  There  are 
various  modes  of  planting  out  trees  in  the 
orchard. 

1.  The  equidistant  plan  of  straight  parallel 
rows,  the  trees  standing  as  in  the  corners  of 
the   squares  of  a  chess-board.      This  is  the 
common  mode  in  use  with  our  farmers,  gener- 
ally. 

2.  The  thick  or  hedge-row  plan  is  a  modi- 
fication of  the  above,  by  which  the  trees  are 
placed  quite  closely  together  in  the  rows,  the 
rows  being  left  more  widely  apart  to  make 
amends  for  this  lateral  crowding.      It  is  an 
excellent  practice  to  set,  alternately  in  each 
row,  apples  and  pears,  and  a  peach  or  dwarf- 
pear  between  each  of  these.     The  peach  or 
dwarf  will  be  worn  out  with  age,  before  it 
encroaches  upon  the  apple  and  pear,  and  the 
apple  even  will  be  infirm  with  years,  before 
the  longer-lived  pear  shall  have  attained  its 
maturity  of  growth. 


103 

The  hedge-row  mode  of  setting  peach- 
orchards,  works  admirably.  It  is  also  recom- 
mended where  it  is  an  object,  to  make  the 
most  of  what  is  called  the  under  crop — 
potatoes,  onions  or  the  like, — in  contra-distinc- 
tion  to  the  fruit  which  is  called  the  upper  crop. 
The  rows  ought  to  extend  north  and  south, 
thirty  to  forty  feet  apart,  and  the  trees  should 
stand  about  eight  or  twelve  feet  from  each 
other,  in  the  rows. 

3.  The  ancient  quincunx  plan — where  the 
trees  are  set  in  the  centres  of  equal  circles  in 
contact  with  each  other — is  recommended 

2 

when  one  wishes  his  fruit  plantation  to  be 
as  compact  as  possible.  This  is  the  same  as 
the  above-described  equidistant  plan,  except- 
ing that  the  trees,  in  each  alternate  row,  break 
joints  with  each  other,  as  the  phrase  is,  a 
tree  in  one  row  being  opposite  to  a  space  in 
the  next,  etc.  When  trees  of  different  longevity 
are  in  this  way  properly  intermixed,  the 
closest  order  of  planting  has  been  attained. 

Some  recommend  to  have  the  rows,  in  each 
of  the  above  plans,  occupy  the  centres  of 
broad  flat  parallel  ridges  like  a  turtle's  back, 
the  ridges  running  lengthwise  with  the 


104 

rows.     This  secures  more  warmth  and  better 
drainage. 

4.  The  irregular  plan  of  planting,  after  the 
manner  of  an  open  natural  forest,  often 
produces  a  fine  effect.  We  have  seen  this 
successfully  accomplished  even  upon  a  small 
scale ;  but  it  is  better  adapted  to  large  planta- 
tions, where  winding  ways,  hills,  rocks  and 
valleys  aid  in  diversifying  the  landscape. 

Trees  in  Grass  Ground.  Trees  in  mow- 
ing-land should  have  a  circle  of  six  to  ten  feet 
in  diameter  around  each,  kept  in  a  cultivated 
state.  A  skillful  ploughman,  with  a  manage- 
able team  and  a  careful  driver,  can  do  this 
work,  two  or  three  times  in  a  season,  very  ex- 
peditiously,  by  going  down  one  side  of  a  row 
and  up  the  other,  putting  in  shallowly  and 
turning  out  the  plough  neatly  at  the  proper 
places.  Twice  a  year  will  answer  for  this 
work.  But  have  a  care  how  you  entrust  such, 
labor  to  unskillful  or  careless  hands.  Such 
may  do  the  work  with  a  bog-hoe  or  spade, 
taking  special  care  not  to  bruise  the  roots 
in  the  least. 

Some  laborers  are  so  rough,  that  they  ought 
not  to  be  allowed  even  to  look  over  the  fence 


105 

which  encloses  an  orchard,  or  a  nursery.  And 
we  may  further  remark,  that  the  whole  busi- 
ness of  cultivating  fruit  trees,  from  the  sowing 
of  the  seed  to  the  gathering  of  the  fruit,  ought 
to  be  entrusted  to  none  but  very  careful  men 
— men  of  good  sense,  taste,  skill  and  FIDELITY. 

Fruiting,  fyc.  Some  of  the  causes  of  fruit- 
fulness  have  been  explained  already.  [See 
Chap.  F.,  Sec.  2d,  and  observe  the  general 
principle  there  stated.}  The  natural  and  cor- 
rect inference  from  that  principle  is,  that  neg- 
lected cultivation,  bending,  distorting,  and 
even  girdling  the  limbs,  a  hard  lime-stone 
soil  or  top-dressing  with  lime,  dwarf -grafting, 
and,  in  a  word,  whatever  tends  to  stunt  the 
growth,  or  induce  premature  old  age,  operates 
as  a  cause  of  fruitfulness.  But  a  word  more. 
As  the  little  boy  cannot  have  his  cake  and  eat 
it,  so  the  overgrown  boy — we  came  very 
near  saying  booby, — -who  is  so  importunate 
as  to  require  an  immediate  income  from  his 
young  orchard  trees,  ought  not  to  complain  of 
their  feeble  health  and  early  decay. 

First  Fruiting.  Beware  of  hastily  form- 
ing an  opinion  from  the  first,  fruits  of  a  youug 
tree.  We  have  known  a  peach,  through  fee- 
bleness, produce  little,  green,  worthless  fruit, 


106 

the  first  bearing  season,  and,  the  very  next 
year,  the  tree  being  abundantly  supplied  with 
sap,  the  peaches  would  grow  and  swell  out 
into  large,  beautiful,  delicious  red  rareripes. 
We  have  also  frequently  seen  an  almost  equal 
improvement  in  the  pear,  sometimes  even  ex- 
tending to  the  third  or  fourth  season  of  fruit- 
ing; and,  further,  it  ought  to  be  understood 
that  the  fruit  of  some  varieties,  particularly  of 
the  pear,  may  be  excellent  one  season,  and 
only  ordinary  or  indifferent  the  next,  for 
causes  not  yet  well  understood. 

Thinning-out  Fruit.  The  fruits  of  the 
pear  and  the  peach,  and,  indeed,  of  all  fruit- 
bearing  trees  and  shrubs,  may  be  greatly  in- 
creased in  size,  by  thinning  out  the  young 
fruit  when  it  is  fairly  set.  And,  as  the  largest 
specimens  are  always  the  most  valuable  by 
the  quantity,  this  will  often  be  found,  by  the 
careful  cultivator,  to  be  a  profitable  operation. 

A  single  peck  of  large,  luscious  rareripes, 
is  worth  a  bushel  of  those  little,  tough,  fibrous 
abominations,  such  as  it  is  the  height  of  im- 
politeness to  offer  to  a  well-fed  pig. 

Peach  trees,  annually  shortened-in,  will,  in 
general,  scarcely  need  to  have  their  fruits 
thinned. 


107 

Specimen  Trees.  Amateur  cultivators  and 
nursery-men,  will  often  find  it  convenient  to 
have  one  or  more  specimen  trees  of  apples, 
pears,  &c.  Twenty  to  forty  or  fifty  or  more 
varieties,  may  easily  be  worked  upon  a  single 
tree;  and  one,  in  this  way,  may  multiply  spe- 
cimens to  almost  any  extent,  even  upon  a 
small  piece  of  ground.  Dwarf  pear  trees  are 
very  pretty  for  this  purpose. 


SECTION    III. 

INSECTS,  DISEASES,  REMEDIES,  &C. 

To  purchase  the  best  trees,  and  to  set  them 
in  the  best  location,  and  in  the  most  careful 
manner,  is  so  far  well.  But  much  more  than 
this  is  necessary.  The  soil  must  be  tilled  and 
occasionally  fertilized,  diseases  require  their 
appropriate  remedies,  insects  must  be  destroy- 
ed, suckers  and  dead  wood  must  be  pruned 
away.  Indeed,  there  is  scarcely  a  month  in 
the  year,  when  the  hand  of  the  careful  culti- 
vator may  not  find  profitable  employment 
among  his  trees. 

We  shall,  in  this  place,  speak  in  very  gen- 
eral terms  of  insects  and  diseases.  In  the  de- 
struction of  the  one,  as  in  the  curing  of  the 
other,  the  orchardist  ought,  always  to  make  a 
prompt  and  seasonable  movement ;  for  insects 
increase  with  astonishing  rapidity,  and  dis- 
eases, long  neglected,  can  hardly  be  eradicated 
without  destroying  the  life  of  the  patient. 

Insects  are  kept  away  from  plants  and  trees, 


109 

chiefly  by  strong  offensive  odors.  Some  of 
those  that  have  proved  effectual,  are  the  odor 
ofchamomile,  that  of  coal-tar  from  the  gas 
works,  the  vapor  from  oil  of  turpentine,  &c. 

Insects  may  be  killed,  by  liquid  applications. 
The  best  liquids  yet  known  for  this  purpose 
are  tobacco  water,  and  diluted  whale  oil  soap. 

Tobacco  water  is  made  by  boiling  any 
refuse  tobacco  in  water.  It  must  not  be 
excessively  strong. 

The  whale  oil  soap  is  prepared,  by  mixing 
one  pound  of  it  with  seven  or  eight  gallons  of 
water.  These  liquids  may  be  applied  to 
plants,  with  a  water-pot,  or  a  syringe  having 
a  water-pot  rose  upon  the  end  of  it  so  as  to 
scatter  the  water  more  effectually. 

Half  a  pound  of  quassia,  boiled  a  few 
minutes  in  six  quarts  of  water,  is  a  liquid 
said  to  be  quite  as  efficacious  as  the  tobacco- 
water. 

All  plant  lice  and  almost  all  small  insects, 
can  be  killed,  by  the  application  of  either  of 
the'se  liquids.  A  mixture  of  them  might 
possibly  be  even  more  effectual  than  either 
used  by  itself.  Strong  suds  made  of  common 
soap  answers  tolerably  well,  in  many  cases. 

Much  has  been  accomplished,  by  kindling 
7 


110 

bonfires  in  a  fruit-garden,  at  night.  Thousands 
of  winged  insects,  from  a  sort  of  instinctive 
fondness  for  the  light,  fly  into  these  fires  and 
perish  at  once. 

Wide-mouthed  bottles,  filled  with  molasses 
and  water,  and  suspended  among  the  trees, 
will  speedily  become  full  of  insects. 

The  animal  tenants  of  our  grounds — the 
toad,  and  the  bat, — will  also  lend  us  their  valu- 
able assistance,  if  we  are  kind  to  them.  The 
sparrow,  also,  the  robin ,  and  some  other  birds, 
render  such  important  services  in  the  exter- 
mination of  various  kinds  of  vermin,  that  the 
fruit-gardener  ought  always  to  cultivate 
their  friendship,  notwithstanding  their  dispo- 
sition to  test  the  quality  of  his  finest  cherries 
and  other  smaller  fruits  in  their  season, 
laughingly  warbling  their  criticisms  in  his 
face,  at  the  same  time. 

Nearly  all  diseases  in  fruitrtrees  are  occa- 
sioned, or  greatly  aggravated  by  insects.  We 
shall  treat  of  these  more  particularly  in  the 
following  pages,  under  the  head  of  each  class 
of  fruits. 

Fruit  Stealing.  Other  "varmints,"  larger 
although  more  despisable  than  insects,  some- 
times sneak  into  your  fruit-grounds,  to 


Ill 

steal  and  destroy.  Every  man  who  enters 
your  enclosure  without  your  consent,  and 
takes  away,  from  off  or  from  under  a  tree,  an 
article  of  fruit,  is  a  thief.  Deal  with  him  as 
such.  Keep  him  out  with  a  picket  fence,  or 
a  watch-dog.  Apply  the  scourge  and  the 
disgrace  of  legal  prosecution.  Perhaps  the 
experiment  of  thorn  hedges  may  be  found  to 
answer  a  good  purpose.  But  if  these  dissua- 
sives  fail,  like  the  turf  of  the  old  man  in  the 
fable,  you  must  "  try  what  virtue  there  is  in 
9 tones;"  for  while  so  many  of  our  American 
citizens  continue  to  steal  our  fruits,  and  thus 
evince  a  wicked  meanness  which  would 
disgrace  a  savage  in  uncivilized  countries, 
certainly  a  man  can  hardly  be  censured  for 
defending  his  fruits,  cultivated  or  wild,  from 
the  poacher,  in  the  same  manner  that  Uncle 
Sam  himself  is  wont  to  repel  an  invading 
enemy  from  his  own  large  and  growing  plan- 
tation. As  the  penalty  for  the  theft  ought  to 
be  in  proportion  to  the  difficulty  of  identifying 
the  thief,  he  who  pilfers  from  an  orchard 
deserves  to  be  far  more  severely  punished, 
than  the  easily-caught  purloiner  from  a  fruit- 
stand  in  the  market.  And  further,  whenever 
the  law  of  the  land  fails  to  protect  a  spirited 


112 

man,  he  will  not  be  backward  in  making  and 
executing  a  more  effectual  law  of  his  own. 

More  might  be  said,  but  less  would  suffice, 
if  the  men  of  the  school-house  and  the  pulpit 
would  all  fearlessly  discharge  the  duties 
incumbent  upon  their  stations.  In  some 
heathen  countries,  where  we  send  our  mission- 
aries, the  necessity  for  fences,  locks,  and 
other  protect!  ves  against  the  sin  of  theft,  is 
entirely  unfelt  and  can  scarcely  even  be 
conceived  of.  . 


SECTION  IV. 


'    SERY  AND  ORCHARD. 

Labels.  There  are  various  modes  of  label- 
ling trees.  Labels  of  pine  or  cedar,  brushed 
over  with  white  paint,  and  written  upon  with  a 
lead  pencil  before  the  paint  is  dry,  answer  a 
good  purpose  for  six  or  eight  years.  They 
should  be  fastened  to  the  tree,  with  copper 
wire,  in  such  a  manner  that  they  will  not  be 
blown  about  and  broken  off  by  the  wind,  and 
they  should  be  watched  occasionally,  lest  the 
tree  grow  so  as  to  be  girdled  by  the  wire. 

Lead  labels,  stamped  with  type  or  dies,  are 
far  more  durable.  They  may  be  made  of 
long  narrow  strips  of  the  metal,  and  wound 
round  a  limb  or  twig  of  the  tree,  or  they  may 
be  attached  by  means  of  copper  wire. 

A  convenient,  cheap,  and  very  durable 
label,  may  be  made  of  zinc. 

1st.  The  Form.  Cut  strips  of  zinc  of  an 
elongated  triangular  form,  ten  to  twelve  inches 


114 

long,  half  an  inch  wide  at  one  end  and 
running  to  a  point  at  the  other. 

2d.  The  mode  of  Fastening.  About  four 
inches  from  the  wide  end  of  one  of  these  strips, 
cut  a  slit,  or  punch  a  hole.  Bend  the  pointed 
end  of  the  label  over  a  twig  of  tjie  tree,  and 
put  it,  say  one-fourth  of  an  inch  through  the 
slit  or  hole,  and  clinch  it  with  the  fingers  or 
with  a  small  pair  of  pincers.  It  may  then 
easily  be  bent  and  shaped,  so  as  not  to  be 
moved  by  the  wind. 

3d.  The  Writing.  Write  with  a  quill  pen, 
on  that  part  of  the  label  between  the  hole  and 
the  wide  end.  The  ink  to  be  used  is  made  of 
— Verdigris,  (powdered)  two  parts ;  sal  ammo- 
nia, two  parts ;  lampblack,  one  part ;  water, 
twenty  parts.  Mix  these  ingredients  in  a  mor- 
tar, using  at  first  only  so  much  of  the  water 
as  suffices  for  mixing  them,  and  adding  the 
remainder  afterward.  Put  the  ink  into  a  well 
corked  bottle,  and  shake  it  from  time  to  time. 
In  a  few  days  it  will  be  fit  for  use.  When 
laid  away,  let  the  bottle  stand  cork-end  down- 
ward, to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  ammonia. 
The  ink  may,  in  this  manner,  be  kept  ready 
for  use,  for  years. 

Labels  of  this  description  cost  but  a  trifle 


115 


more  than  wooden  ones,  and  they  will  remain, 
upon  the  trees,  and  be  legible,  during  a  man's 
life-time.  Instead  of  this  ink,  the  writing, 
made  with  a  common  lead  pencil,  becomes, 
after  two  or  three  days'  exposure  without  wet- 
ting, almost  indelible,  and  will  last  for  a  long 
time. 

The  initials  of  a  name,  or  the  number  of  a 
fruit,  may  be  cut  in  the  bark  of  a  tree  without 
injury.  Such  marks  remain  legible  for  many 
years. 

Supports.  Trees  newly  set,  often  require 
support  against  the  force  of  the  wind.  When. 
a  stake  is  used,  it  ought  to  be  three  or  four 
inches  in  diameter.  There  will  be  an  advan- 
tage in  setting  the  stake  in  the  hole,  before 
planting  out  the  tree.  The  bottom  of  the 
stake  may  stand,  one  or  two  feet  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  tree,  and  the  top  may  slant  up  so 
as  to  touch  the  tree.  Pare  the  side  of  the 
stake  next  the  tree  smoothly,  in  a  crescent 
form,  so  as  to  fit  the  form  of  the  tree,  and  bind 
the  two  together  with  a  soft  rope,  previously 
winding  an  old  cloth  round  the  tree  to  prevent 
its  being  chafed  by  the  stake.  Short  stakes, 
two  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  are 
often  sufficient  for  the  support  of  a  tree. 

:$  >& 


116 

Large  cobble  stones,  of  the  size  of  a  bushel 
basket,  laid  close  around  a  newly  set  tree,  are 
quite  as  good  as  stakes. 

Tools ,  Materials,  fyc.     Many  and  various 
tools  and  materials  are  employed  in  horticul- 
tural labor.     The    Tree-scraper  is  used  for 
taking  off  moss   and   rough  bark,  from  un- 
healthy or  large  trees.     The  Pruning-knife 
is  a  large  hooked  jack-knife,  for  cutting  off 
the   smaller  limbs,    in   pruning.     There   are 
several  kinds  of  -Pruning-saws ;   some   are 
narrow,  so  that  they  may  be  used  to  make  a 
curved  cut ;   some  are  contrived  to  be  fitted 
upon  a  pole,  so  as  to  cut  limbs  not  otherwise 
easily  accessible.     A  common  small  handsaw 
will    answer    nearly   every    purpose.      The 
Budding-knife   is    used    for    budding;    the 
Grafting-chisel,  for  grafting.     The  Nursery- 
shears  are  used  for  pruning  limbs  of  the  size 
of  the  finger  and  smaller.     A  modification  of 
these,  called  an  averruncator  by  the  English, 
may  be   attached  to  a  pole  and  worked  by 
means  of  a  cord.     These  are  sometimes  used 
in  cutting  scions,  clearing  off  caterpillars'  eggs, 
or,  with  a  little  basket  attached,  in  gathering 
a  fine  specimen  of  fruit,  not  easily  to  be  come 
at  by  other  means ;  when  made  quite  strong, 


117 

they  are  serviceable  to  the  pruner.  Portable 
Steps,  or  Self-supporting  Ladders,  are  of 
great  use,  in  gathering  fruit,  killing  insects,  &c. 

Russia  matting-  is  used  for  packing  trees, 
and  shreds  of  this  material  are  extensively 
employed  in  budding,  tying,  &c.  American 
matting,  made  of  bass-wood,  has  recently 
come  into  use  as  a  substitute  for  the  Russian. 

Common  meadow  moss,  is  one  of  the  best 
things  in  which  to  pack  the  roots  of  trees,  or 
buds  or  scions  which  are  to  be  sent  some  dis- 
tance. Buds  and  scions  may  be  wrapped 
singly,  in  oiled  silk,  when  one  wishes  to  send 
them  to  a  distance. 

Stakes  for  heading  nursery  rows,  to  be  dura- 
ble, ought  to  be  made  of  chestnut.  They 
should  be  two  or  three  feet  long,  having  their 
upper  ends  planed  smoothly  for  a  space  of 
eight  or  ten  inches.  This  smooth  part  should 
be  brushed  over  with  white  paint,  and  imme- 
diately written  upon  with  red  chalk. 


SECTION    V. 


THE  NURSERY  BUSINESS. 

MANY  American  nursery-men  have  failed; 
others  have  abandoned  the  business  for  more 
lucrative  employments ;  a  very  few  have  found 
it  a  tolerably  profitable  occupation  for  a  series 
of  years. 

A  great  deal  depends  upon  the  location,  in 
itself,  and  also  with  reference  to  a  market. 
The  same  capital  and  labor  employed  upon 
one  piece  of  land,  might  bring  in  a  handsome 
return,  on  another,  the  loss  would  be  ruinous 
to  the  proprietor.* 

*  The  location  in  itself. — A  somewhat  elevated,  gentle  slope, 
looking  toward  the  south  or  southwest,  is  perhaps  the  best  aspect. 
A  deeply  tilled,  highly  enriched  sandy  loam  is  the  best  soil  for 
the  generality  of  nursery  trees.  Cultivate  cherries  and  peaches 
upon  the  highest  and  driest  parts  ;  upon  the  next  lower  ground, 
apples  and  plums ;  still  lower  down,  quinces  and  grapes. 

The  location  in  reference  to  a  market. — Experience  has  proved 
that  a  location  in  the  suburbs  of  a  large  town  or  city,  although 
costing  $500  to  $  1000  per  acre,  is  better  than  a  retired  locality 
upon  much  cheaper  land  ;  for  a  nursery -man  must  sell  as  well  as 
cultivate  his  trees. 


119 


The  whole  annual  cost  of  conducting  a  nur- 
sery, in  New  England,  for  a  series  of  years, 
will  not  fall  short  of  $200  per  acre.^  A  few 
lines  will  exhibit  some  of  the  items  of  this 
expense : 

Rent,  or  Interest  on  suitable  land,  near  a  good 

tree-market,         / $30,00 

Labor,  of  men,  &c. — planting  out,  cultivating, 

grafting,  pruning,  taking  up,  selling,  &c.,  90,00 

Stock, — including  a  due   proportion   of  the  first 

outlay,  the  anaual  cost  of  seeds,  stocks  for 
^  ,  -grafting,  tools,  &c.,  &c., — taking  the  annual 

average  for  a  series  of  years,      .        .        .  35,00 

Manure,  <?JFjr>  ,90ffllivi»  fife  STOJffe1  .fctfVr5.f»f  15,00 
Advertising,  iv"»<v'"f  ?!,«-*>•»••'.*  -  rtv\  #*i<v^  **fi® 
Incidental  expenses,  .  f  •  *  ^  '  •'  '  ^fi® 

Interest,  annually  accruing  on  these  outgoes  before 

the  trees  are  sold,       .        .        .        .  \  •  >*  *      20,00 

Total  Annual  Expense  of  a  one-acre  nursery,      .      $200,00 

^The  above  items  would  vary  greatly  of 
course,  in  different  localities,  and  also,  from 
year  to  year,  in  the  same  nursery.  Such  an 
average  estimate  cannot  be  very  accurately 
made ;  but  whoever  thinks  it  may  be  too  large, 
will  mid  no  difficulty  in  swelling  it  to  the 
present  amount,  by  adding  the  losses  arising 

*  This  cost  is  very  clearly  shown,  in  detail,  in  the  Albany  Cul- 
tivator— Sept.  No.  of  1848 — page  279.  Two  very  important  er- 
rors, in  the  article,  will  be  found  corrected  on  the  310th  page  of 
the  Oct.  No.  of  the  same  year.  Ambitious  young  nursery-men 
will  do  well  to  read  attentively  the  article  alluded  to. 


120 

from  the  numerous  accidents  that  destroy  so 
many  young  trees,  and  from  the  depreciated 
value  of  fine  trees  that  have  become  unpopu- 
lar varieties  since  they  were  grafted ;  the 
bad  debts  also,  which  are  never  paid,  the  cost 
of  collecting  good  debts,  discount  on  retail 
prices,  &c.,  &c. 

Five  thousand  saleable  trees  are  the  very 
utmost  that  an  acre  will,  in  general,  produce. 
The  average  age  of  the  trees  sold,  is  certainly 
not  less  than  five  years.  Therefore,  but  one 
thousand  trees,  upon  an  average,  can  annually 
be  sold  from  a  one-acre  nursery :  in  favorable 
years,  more,  in  others,  less. 

Thus  it  appears  that  five  years'  old  nursery- 
trees  must  be  sold  at  an  average  price  of  about 
twenty  cents  apiece  to  defray  expenses.  But 
the  nursery-man  must  support  himself,  not 
from  outgoes,  but  from  PROFITS  !  Put  the 
price  at  twenty-five  cents  a  tree,  and  fifty  dol- 
lars profit  will  be  left  annually  in  the  hands 
of  the  proprietor  of  a  one-acre  nursery.  If  it 
be  objected  to  this  calculation  that  many  trees 
are  sold  at  much  higher  rates,  let  it  also  be 
understood  that  such  trees  are  often  eight  or 
ten  years  old.  In  a  word — from  a  little  expe- 
rience, and  from  considerable  observation  of, 


121 

and  enquiry  into  the  experience  of  others,  we 
very  confidently  affirm  it  as  our  belief  that 
the  nurseries  of  New  England  have  not,  for 
the  last  ten  years,  yielded  a  net  profit  equal 
to  fifty  dollars  per  acre  for  the  grounds  which 
they  have  occupied. 

Again,  young  trees  are  liable  to  many  inju- 
ries. Thousands  are  winter-killed.  Others 
die  from  the  uncongenial  nature  of  the  soil. 
The  inserted  buds  are  frozen ;  the  grafts  are 
dried  up ;  the  trunks  are  gnawed  by  mice ;  the 
roots  are  thrown  out  by  the  heaving  of  the 
soil ;  the  foliage  and  the  young  growth,  in  a 
dry  season,  are  often  destroyed  by  lice  and 
other  vermin. 

Thousands  upon  thousands  of  fine  trees  are 
lost  every  year,  in  some  or  all  of  these  several 
ways.  Many  perish  under  the  hands  of  un- 
skillful or  careless  laborers.  Many  also,  with 
the  best  care,  never  become  saleable,  from 
crookedness,  deformity,  &c.,  &c. 

Nor  is  this  quite  all.  A  fruit,  this  year 
extremely  popular,  will  tempt  the  nursery-man 
to  graft  it  very  extensively.  Three  or  four 
years  hence,  when  these  trees  are  ready  for 
market,  lo  and  behold  !  further  trial  has  fair- 
ly and  satisfactorily  proved  the  variety  to  be 


122 

worthless.  Thus,  all  these  grafted  trees  be- 
come at  once  unsaleable,  and  their  value  sinks 
even  lower  than  that  of  good  thrifty  stocks  of 
the  same  age;  for  many  of  them  will  hardly 
out-grow  the  severe  discipline  of  another 
grafting. 

Whoever  contemplates  engaging  in  this  bu- 
siness, must  also  bear  in  mind,  that  the  faith- 
fulness and  ingenuity  without  which  a  very 
considerable  part  of  the  work  were  better  not 
done,  cannot  be  commanded  at  the  ordinary 
prices  for  which  an  Irishman  will  shovel 
gravel.  So  true  is  it  that  the  more  of  intellect 
or  of  other  qualifications  is  required  of  labor, 
the  more  exacting  does  it  become.  You  must 
pay  for  a  two-footed  simpleton  more  than 
for  a  horse,  for  an  American  more  than  for 
an  Irishman,  for  mechanical  labor  more 
than  for  field  work,  for  professional  services 
still  more,  and  so  on. 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  then,  that,  under 
these  circumstances,  a  nursery -man,  who  is 
his  own  foreman  and  labors  constantly  in  the 
field  with  his  men,  might  support  his  family 
by  the  business,  while  another,  of  more  gen- 
teel ideas,  would  find  it  difficult  to  live  by  it. 

And  there  is  another  strong  reason  for  this 


123 

difference  of  result.  As  a  Roman  writer  ob- 
served, two  thousand  years  ago,  "  Wherever 
the  eyes  of  the  master  most  frequently  ap- 
proach, there  is  the  greatest  increase."  Every 
one  knows  this  to  be  true  in  general,  but  unre- 
flecting inexperience  does  not  know  that  the 
expression  has  a  very  peculiar  force  of  mean- 
ing, with  reference  to  the  management  of  a 
nursery. 

Another  thing, — the  nursery-trade  is  not  to 
be  learned  in  a  single  week.  Ten  years'  ex- 
perience might  grow  rich  in  the  business, 
where  five  years  could  hardly  get  a  living, 
and  a  yearling  novice  would  certainly  starve. 

The  nursery  business  requires  very  much 
more  skill  than  ordinary  farming,  arid  its  pro- 
fits are  far  more  uncertain.  Upon  the  whole, 
it  is  a  much  better  avocation?  to  amuse  a  rich 
man's  leisure,  than  to  replenish  a  poor  man's 
purse.  The  reader  may  rest  assured,  that 
there  is  no  more  satisfactory  way  of  arriving 
at  a  realizing  sense  of  the  truth  of  this  asser- 
tion, than  to  give  the  business  a  thorough  trial. 
For  ourselves,  we  confess  that  we  have  fairly 
and  clearly  "  seen  the  elephant"  that  eats  up 
the  profits  of  raising  or  buying  fruit  trees,  for 
sale. 


SECTION    VI. 

THE  ORCHARD  BUSINESS. 

As  we  have  remarked  elsewhere,  there  is 
no  better  orcharding  country  in  the  world, 
than  the  hill-sides  of  New  England.  A  little 
detail  will  show  what  might  be  done  in  this 
business.  Forty  apple  trees  of  the  largest 
size  can  stand  upon  an  acre ;  and,  producing 
annually  but  two  barrels  apiece,  the  crop  is 
worth  not  less  than  a  hundred  and  twenty 
dollars — iwhich  is  the  interest  of  two  thousand 
dollars  per  acre.  Deducting  the  cost  of  the 
labor  of  managing  it,  and  making  every  al- 
lowance for  other  drawbacks,  and  this  busi- 
ness would  still  appear  to  be  more  profitable 
than  any  other  kind  of  agriculture.  But  since 
what  has  been  may 'be  more  satisfactory  than 
what  might  be,  we  appeal  to  facts.  From  the 
windows  where  we  are  writing,  we  look  out 
upon  apple  trees,  which  we  know  have  pro- 
duced, during  the  last  ten  years,  an  annual 
net  profit,  fully  equal  to  the  interest  of  one 


thousand  dollars  per  acre,  for  the  land  which 
they  have  shaded.  And  let  no  one  anticipate 
a  glutted  market,  so  long  as  our  manufac- 
turing villages,  yearly  increasing  in  number, 
are  still  but  imperfectly  supplied,  and  partic- 
ularly so  long  as  the  fruiterers  of  London 
palm  off  the  products  of  British  orchards,  un- 
der the  attractive  recommendation  of  "  Amer- 
ican apples." 

Much  of  the  rocky  hill-side  land  of  New 
England,  now  considered  unavailable  for  oth- 
er uses  than  that  of  pasturage,  could,  with  a 
moderate  outlay,  be  converted  into  excellent 
orcharding.  It  seems  very  strange,  that  our 
farmers  should  think  so  lightly  of  this  very 
feasible  operation,  now  that  the  demand  for 
cider  no  longer  requires  to  be  supplied.  A 
bushel  of  Baldwins,  never  worth  less  than 
forty  cents,  may  be  grown  with  but  little  mofe 
expense  than  it  formerly  cost  to  raise  a  bush* 
el  of  nondescript  apples,  which,  in  the  palmiest 
days  of  the  cider-press,  never  were  worth 
more  than  ten  cents.  Most  marvelous  mis- 
takes have  been  made,  in  cutting  down  old 
cider-orchards,  instead  of  saving  and  grafting 
over  frhe  most  healthy  of  the  trees.  Many  such 
trees,  thus*  altered  into  good  fruit,  scraped, 
8 


126 

dug  around,  and  manured,  would  have  gladly 
given  the  farmer  five  dollars  worth  of  fruit, 
for  every  clay  that  he  might  have  thus  kindly 
devoted  to  them.  The  case  of  old  neglected 
pear  trees  is  still  more  deplorable. 

A  hundred  standard  pear  trees  need  not  oc- 
cupy over  an  adre  of  land.  Their  annual 
crop,  if  of  proper  varieties,  Would  certainly 
not  fall  short  of  the  value  of  five  dollars  for 
each  tree.  Excellent  judges  assure  us  that 
this  estimate  is  quite  too  low.  But  even  at 
this  moderate  computation,  the  income  from  a 
single  acre  of  pears  would  amount  to  the  an- 
nual sum  of  five  hundred  dollars.  And  the 
labor  attending  the  good  management  of  the 
trees  and  their  crop^  would  be  less  than  what 
is  usually  bestowed  upon  many  other  products 
of  the  farmef's  fields. 

Four  hundred  dwarf  pear  trees  would  have 
plenty  of  room  upon  an  acre.  Under  the  care 
of  a  skillful  cultivator,  they  might  be  made  to 
yield  a  much  more  valuable  crop  than  the 
same  piece  of  land,  in  pear-rooted  standards. 
Some  writers  say  more  than  double  the  crop 
would  be  produced  by  the  dwarfs.  Thus  the 
income  from  a  single  acre  of  fruit  trees  prop- 
erly cultivated  and  managed,  might  easily  be 


127 

made  to  exceed  that  of  some  entire  farms. 
We  have  spoken  only  of  apples  and  pears. 
But  much  might  also  be  accomplished,  even 
in  our  comparatively  rigorous  climate,  with 
peaches,  cherries,  &c.  And  there  is  little  to 
be  apprehended  from  competition,  even  in  the 
less  difficult  branches  of  fruit  culture.  We 
would  hardly  make  an  exception  to  this  re- 
mark, in  favor  of  the  peach-^a  tree  of  the 
very  easiest  cultivation,  in  all  places  where  it 
does  not  suffer  from  the  severity  of  the  weath- 
er in  winter. 

Yet, — and  this  is  important — let  no  one  hope 
for  success  in  this  business,  unless  he  have 
taste  for  it,  a  skillful  hand,  and  a  willingness 
to  devote  himself  personally,  and  with  assid- 
uousness to  the  work*  It  will  not  do  to  turn 
into  your  orchard  the  first  straggling  laborer 
who  applies  for  employment.  Neither  can 
you  with  impunity  neglect  your  trees,  when 
they  require  the  fostering  hand  of  the  cultiva- 
tor. 

Constant  attention,  patience,  perseverance, 
and  unremitting  care,  are  just  as  essential  to 
the  success  of  an  orchard,  as  is  the  soil  in  which 
it  grows,  or  the  air  in  which  its  leaves  tran- 
spire. 


123 

For  lack  of  these,  perhaps  nearly  one  half 
of  the  trees  annually  taken  from  our  nurse- 
ries, are  consigned  to  the  wood-pile,  within 
five  years  after  they  are  set  out ;  and  the  dis- 
appointed purchaser  curses  the  nursery-man, 
his  soil,  the  climate,  and  even  the  stars  of 
heaven,  when,  in  truth,  only  himself  is  at 
fault.  What  Horace  said  of  things  in  gene- 
ral, applies  with  the  strongest  force  to  the 
orcharding  business:  "Life  gives  nothing  to 
man,  but  at  the  price  of  great  labor."* 

Yet,  if  a  New  England  farmer's  son  shall 
have  been  trained  to  habits  of  industry,  and 
to  a  taste  for  these  pursuits,  and  there  shall 
descend  to  him  an  inheritance  of  a  few  pater- 
nal acres  of  thriving  fruit  trees,  let  him  thank 
God  that  he  was  not  bom  heir-apparent  to  a 
European  Throne. 

*       *       *       *       Nil  sine  magno 

Vita  labore  dedit  mortalibus        *        *        * 

Lib,  I:  Sal.  9, 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


MONTHLY  ROUTINE  OF  LABOR  AMONG  FRUIT  TREES. 

A  chapter  upon  this  subject  may  serve  to 
remind  the  reader  of  work  which  he  might 
otherwise  forget,  thus  furnishing  idle  hours 
with  profitable  employment  which  might  oth- 
erwise be  crowded  into  more  busy  seasons  of 
the  year. 

JANUARY. 

You  can  work  this  month,  during  pleasant 
weather,  pruning  and  scraping  your  orchard 
trees  that  need  this  care.  You  can  cut  scions, 
and  also  splice-graft  little  stocks  previously 
heeled-in  in  your  cellar,  for  that  purpose. 
Trim  your  hardy  grape-vines,  if  you  had  not 
time  to  do  it  last  month. 

Tread  the  snow  around  your  standard  and 
nursery  trees,  so  as  to  keep  the  mice  away 
from  them. 

Examine  and  attend  to  all  your  trees  that 


130 


need  labelling.  Prepare  a  good  supply  of  la- 
bels for  another  season.  Pick  or  cut  off  cat- 
erpillar's eggs  from  your  apple  trees. 


FEBRUARY. 

Finish  the  uncompleted  work  of  last  month. 
Large  trees,  previously  prepared,  may  be 
moved  in  this  or  in  either  of  the  two  preceding 
months,  by  what  is  called  the  frozen  ball  mode. 
[See  Transplanting,  Sec.  3d.] 

MARCH. 

• 

Prune  gooseberries  and  currants.  Graft 
cherries  and  plums,  in  mild  days.  Prune  and 
tie  up  raspberries.  In  the  latter  part  of  this 
month,  you  may  head  down  trees  that  were 
budded  last  autumn.  Shorten-in  peach-trees, 
dwarf-pears,  &c. 

• 
APRIL. 

Complete  the  unfinished  work  of  last  month. 
Uncover  tender  grapes,  &c.  Weed  strawberry 
beds,  and  set  out  new  beds  of  this  fruit.  Plant 
out  also  cuttings  of  gooseberries,  currants, 
quinces  and  grapes, — the  latter  two  in  shady 
and  favorable  situations,  or  they  will  not  suc- 
ceed* Crack  and  plant  plum  and  peach  stones. 


131 


As  soon  as  the  ground  and  weainer  win  per- 
mit, transplant  first  evergreen,  then  fruit  and 
ornamental  trees  generally.  Plant  out  the 
trees  which  you  root-grafted  in  January  and 
February.  Dig  around  orchard-trees  standing 
in  grass-ground,  in  this,  or  in  any  other  month 
in  the  year  when  you  have  leisure.  Complete 
grafting  cherries  and  plums,  and  commence 
grafting  apples  and  pears. 

MAY. 

This  is  a  very  busy  month.  Get  up  early 
in  the  morning.  Finish  the  work  of  last 
month  as  soon  as  you  can.  Endeavor  to  keep 
down  all  weeds  while  they  are  young,  and 
thus  save  one-half  of  the  labor  attending 
this  work.  Cut  what  are  called  robber-shoots* 
off  of  all  budded  and  scion-grafted  stocks, 
unless  the  bud  or  scion  is  very  weak,  or  does 
npt  appear  likely  to  live.  Stake  and  tie  crook- 
ed and  newly  set  trees  that  need  tying. 
Examine  the  peach,  apple  and  quince,  for  the 
borer-worms  that  infest  them.  Put  down 
layers  of  the  quince  and  grape.  Put  your 

*  Robber-shoots  are  those  which  giow  out  of  the  stock  below 
the  bud  or  scion.  Sometimes  these  ought  to  be  destroyed  grad- 
ually, if  the  bud  or  scion  is  weak. 

•*'.liil'" !  •    ;J  •  "ff^p 


132 

horse   and    cultivator    in    motion   seasonbly 
among  your  nursery   rows.     Brush  off  and 
destroy  caterpillars,  early  in  the  morning  and 
in  wet  days.     Attend  also  to  your  ornamental 
trees,  plants,  and  flower-beds. 
. 
JUNE. 

Cultivate  around  your  trees  in  grass-ground. 
Finish  the  uncompleted  work  of  last  month. 
Thin  out  overbearing  fruit-trees.  Train 
grape-vines.  Make  war  upon  weeds  every 
where.  Cut  off  the  blight  from  pear-trees, 
and  the  black-knot  from  plum-trees.  Exam- 
ine for  borers  in  apple  trees,  &c.,  &c.  Keep 
down  robber-shoots  on  your  grafted  stocks. 
We  may  add,  though  the  remark  does  not 
properly  belong  here,  that  evergreen  orna^ 
mental  trees  may  be  successfully  transplanted 
during  the  last  week  of  last  month,  and  the 
first  ten  days  of  this.  If  they  suifer  much 
loss  of  root  in  the  operation,  mulch  them,  and 
trim  their  tops,  by  shortening-in  uniformly  all 
the  limbs  except  the  top  or  leader.  This  lat- 
ter, once  cut  off  or  broken,  can  with  difficuU 
ty  be  restored  again,  even  on  a  small  tree. 

JULY. 
Continue  your  warfare  upon  weeds,  training 


133 

the  grape,  cutting  off  blight  and  excresences 
from  trees,  destroying  borers,  foe. 

Bud  cherries  and  plums  in  the  latter  part  of 
this  month,  as  soon  as  the  buds  become  ripe 
enough  for  use.  Attend  to  shortening-in  dwarf 
pear-trees,  if  you  prefer  to  do  this  by  the 
pinching-off  process,  described  under  the 
head  of  Quince-bottomed  dwarf  jiears. 

AUGUST. 

Put  down  grape  and  other  layers,  if  you 
have  not  done  it  in  the  spring.  Continue 
budding  plums  and  cherries.  Simultaneously 
with,  and  after  cherries,  bud  pears,  either  on 
quince  or  pear  stocks ;  then  apples  till  into 
September.  Strawberry  plants  may  be  set 
during  this  and  the  early  part  of  next  month ; 
but,  in  our  cold  climate,  it  is  quite  as  well  to 
defer  this  work  until  spring.  Apricots  on 
plum  stocks  may  be  budded  this  month,  on 
peach  stocks,  say  about  the  first  of  Septem- 
ber. 

SEPTEMBER. 

During  the  first  week  of  this  month  bud 
quinces,  if  you  wish ;  finish  budding  other 
trees,  and  then  bud  peaches,  from  the  first  to 


134 

tha  middle  of  the  month.  Remove,  loosen, 
or  re-tie  the  bandages  of  budded  trees  which 
are  beginning  to  be  girdled  by  them.  It  is  an 
excellent  practice  to  untie  such  bandages,  and 
immediately  tie  them  on  again,  more  loosely. 
Dig  holes  arid  prepare  soil  for  transplanting 
medium  or  large  sized  trees. 

OCTOBER. 

This  is  a  good  month  for  setting  an  or- 
chard. Follow  the  directions  for  Autumn  trans- 
planting, and  you  may  successfully  plant  out 
any  fruit-trees  of  orchard  size,  from  the  latter 
part  of  this  month,  until  they  begin  to  leaf 
out  in  the  spring, — provided,  the  ground  is 
not  too  wet,  and  the  weather  is  not  down  to 
the  freezing  point. 

NOVEMBER. 

Manure  your  trees.  Top-dress  strawberry 
beds.  Lay  down  and  cover  tender  grape- 
vines, &c,,  &c.  Small  trees,  layers,  &c., 
designed  for  setting  next  spring,  may  be  heel- 
ed-in  deep,  out  of  doors.  Small  stocks  for 
root-grafting  in  winter,  should  be  heeled-in,  in 
a  cellar,  in  a  box  of  loam  if  you  prefer,  where 
they  will  not'  freeze.  Scions  may  (if  neces- 


135 

sary)  be  cut,  Put  them  in  a  cellar,  with 
their  lower  ends  in  the  ground.  Prepare  large 
trees  for  moving,  by  the  frozen  ball  method. 

DECEMBER, 

Complete  the  unfinished  work  of  last  month, 
If  the  weather  is  right,  move  and  set  the  large 
trees  prepared  in  that  month. 

Do  work  as  in  the  month  of  January  also. 
The  leisure  hours  of  this  and  the  two  ensuing 
months,  may  be  very  profitably  employed,  in 
reading  the  various  horticultural  publications 
of  the  day, — works  which  Poverty  herself 
cannot  keep  out  of  any  hands  that  desire  to 
possess  them, 


PART  II. 


OF  THE  CULTIVATION  OP  THE  SEV- 
ERAL  SPECIES  OF  FRUIT  TREES. 


PRELIMINARY    REMARKS. 
.•j£»M[  $r!t  ,?&$$&.  ?Jfe^j^t&^M^ 

THE  preceding  chapters  contain  information 
Upon  the  cultivation  and  rhana'gemerit  of  fruit 
trees  generally. 

We  now  propose  to  eriter  intd  a  particular 
examination  of  the  character  ahd  habits  of 
the  several  sp&ties  of  fruit  trees  adapted  to 
Wpen  culturd  in  our  climate,  arid  the  proper 
care  necessary  to  be  Bestowed  upon  each.  In 
order  that  we  may  Understand  What  are  the 
claims  of  New  England,  as  a  fruit-growing 
country,  we  borrow  a  few  words  from  Gene- 
ral Dearborn,  the  first  Pfesident  of  the  Mass. 
Horticultural  Society. 

"Among  all  the  fruits  Which  are  produced 
upon  the  earth,  the  highest  position  has  been 
given  to  the  Mangostan,  Which  is  indigenous 
to  Java  and  other  island  in  the  Indian  Arche- 
pelago ;  the  second  has  been  assigned  to  the 
Pine  Apple,  the  third  to  the  Orange,  the  fourth 
to  the  Peach,  the  fifth  to  the  Grape,  and  the 
sixth  to  the  Pear."  But  this  is  not  the  order 


140 

of  precedence  with  these  fruits,  even  in  so  far 
as  they  admit  of  out-doof  cultivation  in  the 
rigorous  climates  of  the  north. 

The  fruits  of  our  eastern  states,  in  the  or* 
der  of  their  comparative  value,  should,  we 
think,  be  arranged  thus.-^-the  Apple,  the  Pear, 
t(he  Peach,  the  Cherry,  the  Quince,  the  Plum, 
the  Grape,  the  Apricot,  the  Nectarine,  the 
Strawberry,  the  Currant,  the  Gooseberry,  the 
Raspberry,  and  (we  hardly  know  where  to 
insert  it,)  the  Cranberry.  In  this  arrangment, 
we  commence  with  tree-fruits  and  end  with 
berry-fruits;  otherwise,  we  should  have  placed 
the  Strawberry,  and,  'perhaps,  the  Currant 
also,  between  the  Quince,  and  the  Plum, 
where,  we  think,  they  have  reputation  suffi- 
cient to  sustain  themselves  easily. 

We  are  entering  upon  by  far  the.  most  diffi- 
cult part  of  our  work.  The  writings  of 
Thomas  and  Downing,  and  even  of  our  near- 
er neighbors,  Kenrick,  Hovey,  Manning,  Ives, 
and  others,  are  adapted  to  soils  and  climates 
differing  from  those  of  the  elevated  rocky  re- 
gions of  the  interior  of  New  England.  Nor 
is  this  all.  The  testimony  of  cultivators  in 
our  most  immediate  vicinity,  is  by  no  means 
unanimous.  Occupants  of  adjoining  farms, 


141 

growing  fruits  for  the  same  purposes,  speak 
in  terms  of  praise  and  condemnation  of  the 
same  varieties  of  fruits.  We  have  even  known 
an  intelligent  orchardist  to  cut  his  scions  from 
the  same  limb  that  another  of  equal  intelli- 
gence, had  sawed  off  as  unworthy  of  cultiva- 
tion. These  remarks  apply  with  more  or  less 
force  to  our  fruits  and  fruit  trees  generally. 

Something,  nevertheless,  may  be  done,  and, 
so  far  as  it  in  us  lies,  we  shall  endeavor  hon- 
estly and  faithfully  to  do  this  something,  to 
the  best  of  our  humble  ability. 

It  is  important  to  say  that  many  fine  fruits 
are  purposely  left  out  of  all  our  Descriptive 
Lists.  Of  some  of  these  the  reputation  has 
not  been  sufficiently  established ;  others  have 
not  proved  uniformly  productive  and  hardy  ; 
others  have  been  too  variable  in  their  quality  ; 
and  of  others  the  omission  has  been  justified 
by  other  seemingly  sufficient  causes. 

It  will  be  obvious  to  whoever  reflects  upon 
the  matter,  that  such  small  lists  as  we  have 
chosen  to  confine  ourselves  to,  are  not  easily 
compiled.  One  man's  family  consumption, 
nearness  to  a  good  market,  taste,  fancy  or  pe- 
culiar whim,  may  be  such  that  he  will  prefer 
to  cultivate  almost  exclusively-r-say  of  ap- 
9 


142 

pies — the  summer  or  early  autumn  varieties. 
Another  man  differently  situated,  cultivating 
for  dissimilar  purposes,  and  aiming  to  gratify 
entirely  different  taste,  fancy  or  whims,  may 
desire  to  cultivate  none  but  winter  fruits. 
Still  a  third  class  of  men  may  desire  altogeth- 
er other  fruits,  and  so  forth. 

Occupants  of  city-gardens,  having  only  two 
or  three  trees,  would  probably  wish  to  cul- 
tivate such  fruits  as  can  be  enjoyed  in  perfec- 
tion, only  when  eaten  directly  from  the  tree. 

Those  possessing  but  a  single  tree  would 
be  able  to  attain  this  object,  by  having  two  or 
three  such  early  varieties  worked  upon  it  to- 
gether, trusting  to  the  market  for  a  supply  of 
those  fruits  which  have  better  keeping  prop- 
erties. 

It  would  be  desirable  to  extend  these  gene- 
ral remarks ;  but  ours  is  a  little  book,  and  we 
must  hasten  along  to  other  subjects. 

In  preparing  our  Lists,  we  have  followed 
the  Catalogue  of  the  London  Horticultural 
Society,  as  giving  a  greater  amount  of  in- 
formation, in  a  small  space,  than  any  other 
plan  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  In  our 
particular  descriptions  of  the  quality  of  fruits, 
we  have  followed  the  mode  adopted  by  the 


143 

American  Congress  of  Fruit-growers.  Their 
three  grades  of  quality  and  the  types  or  pat- 
terns of  each,  may  be  conveniently  exhibited 
in  the  following  little 

TABLE  OF  QUALITY. 


FRUITS. 

GOOD  . 

VERY     C3OOD.              |              BEST. 

APPLES. 

Maiden's 
Blush. 

Gravenstein. 

Esoput*    Spit- 
zenburg. 

PEARS. 

Napoleon. 

Bartlett. 

Seckel. 

PEACHES. 

Crawford's 
Late. 

Old  Mixon  Free- 
stone. 

George  IV. 

CHERRIES. 

Black  Heart. 

Elton.              |    Black  Eagle". 

PLUMS.              |      Lombard. 

Washington.        |   Green  Gage. 

Many  fruits  are  so  much  affected  by  the 
season,  cultivation,  soil,  health  of  the  tree, 
&c.  &c.  that  they,  in  some  years,  seem  to 
belong  with  the  good,  and  in  other  years, 
with  the  very  good,  or  even  the  best.  Thus 
of  many  it  is  difficult  to  decide,  whether 
some  should  be  generally  classed  as  good  or 
very  good,  and  whether  others  generally  be- 
long with  the  very  good  or  the  best  class. 

A  very  explicit  notion  of  quality,  therefore, 
must  not  be  expected  from  the  following  tables 
of  fruits.  We  intend  to  give  a  general  idea 
only  of  this  characteristic,  and  the  same  also 
of  the  size,  and,  in  a  less  degree,  of  all  other 
properties  and  characteristics  of  fruits.  Per- 


144 

feet  accuracy,  in  these  matters,  is  altogether 
an  impracticable  thing. 

TABLE  OF  SIZE. 


FRUITS, 

LARGE. 

.MEDIUM. 

SMALL. 

APPLES. 

II.  I.     Green- 
ing. 

Roxbury  Russet. 

Qolden     Rus- 
set. 

FEARS. 

Bartlett. 

Buffum. 

Seckel. 

PEACHES. 

Early     Craw- 
ford. 

E  arly  Sweet  Water 

Early  Anne. 

c««».  i  B""rkeara- 

Black  Heart.       |  BlackzardMaz' 

PLUMS.             |  Washington. 

Imperial  Gage. 

Green  Gage. 

We  have  made  the  above  Table  of  Size  on 
our  own  responsibility,  and  we  wish  it  to  be 
interpreted  in  the  same  manner  as  that  of 
Quality  above.  Thus,  apples  about  as  large 
as  the  R.  I.  Greening,  and  all  larger  apples, 
will  be  marked  with  the  figure  1,  indicating 
large;  apples  about  the  size  of  the  Roxbury 
Russet,  will  be  marked  with  a  figure  2,  indi^ 
eating  medium^sized ;  apples  about  as  small 
as  the  Golden  Russet,  and  all  smaller  apples, 
will  be  marked  with  the  figure  3,  indicating 
small;  and  the  same  also  in  regard  to  the 
other  fruits. 

We  repeat,  that  perfect  accuracy  ought  not 
to  be  required,  in  regard  to  these  things. 

We  will  not  deny  that  possibly  we  might 


145 

have  selected  better  types  of  size  than  those 
included  in  the  above  table;  but  we  thought 
it  preferable  to  Use  such  as  were  the  most 
generally  known. 

In  regard  to  the  Vses  of  fruits,  many  of 
those  marked  as  dessert  or  table  fruits,  are 
also  valuable  for  culinary  purposes ;  and  some 
of  the  finer  kitchen  fruits  are  also  esteemed 
for  the  dessert. 

NOMENCLATURE, 

In  designating  fruits,  We  have  adopted  the 
general  usage  tif  our  own  neighborhood,  as 
being  the  best  suited  to  our  purpose,  without 
any  regard  to  what  may  or  may  not  be  stand- 
ard authority  elsewhere. 

Unfortunately  the  nomenclature  of  fruits  is 
Still  in  a  very  unsettled  condition.  Whether 
in  a  country  where  every  one  feels  so  sensi- 
tively his  own  political  importance  and  per- 
sonal rights,  an  entire  uniformity  in  this  re- 
spect is  attainable^  is  with  us  rather  more  a 
matter  of  hope  than  of  confident  belief. 


CHAPTER    I. 

f" 

THE   APPLE. 

One  of  the  good  old  fathers  of  English 
Pomology,  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago,  wrote, — 

"  I  have  seen  in  pastures  about  the  grounds 
of  a  worshipfull  gentleman,  dwelling  two 
miles  from  Hereford,  so  many  Apple  trees  of 
all  sorts,  that  the  servants  drink  for  the  most 
part  no  other  drink  but  that  which  is  made  of 
Apples.  The  quantity  is  such,  that  by  the 
report  of  the  gentleman  himself,  the  Parson 
hath  for  tythe'many  hogsheads  of  cyder. 

The  hogs  are  fed,  with  the  fallings  of 
them,  which  are  so  many,  that  they  make 
choice  of  those  Apples  they  do  eat,  who  will 
not  taste  of  any  but  the  best." 

This  little  item  of  history,  without  going 
farther  back  to  Roman  authority,  shows  that 


147 

the  cultivation  and  uses  of  the  apple  are  no 
new  things  under  the  sun.  Indeed,  a  fruit  so 
hardy,  so  productive,  so  easy  of  cultivation, 
coming  into  maturity  during  so  many  months 
of  the  year,  and  adapted  to  such  numerous 
uses,  must  ever  be  deserving  of  the  first  atten- 
tion of  the  orchardist. 

The  apple  is  cultivated  both  as  a  standard 
and  a  dwarf. 


fcii  - 

Oh  5.' 

SECTION  I. 


STANDARD   APPLE    TREES. 

•KU  -V»  nail 

Choice  of  a  tree.  —  A  good  apple-tree  for 
setting  in  an  orchard,  should  be  from  about 
seven  to  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  and  branching 
out,  according  to  the  owners'  taste,  at  any 
point  from  four  to  six  or  seven  feet  from  the 
ground.  The  limbs  ought  to  be  well  formed, 
diverging  handsomely  and  equally  in  every 
direction,  and  they,  and  the  trunk  also,  should 
'be  entirely  free  from  moss  or  black  canker. 
The  length  of  the  scions  on  the  ends  of  the 
limbs,  is  a  good  criterion  of  the  trees'  health* 
The  trunk  ought  to  be  straight,  smooth  and 
stocky. 

The  collar—  or  part  of  the  trunk  just  at  the 
surface  of  the  ground  —  should  be  free  from 
the  appearance  of  borers.  The  root  ought  to 
be  well  formed  and,  like  the  top,  diverging 
equally  in  every  direction,  having  a  plentiful 
supply  of  fibres,  particularly  in  its  outer  por- 
tions. 


149 

One  must  not  expect  to  find  all  these  desira- 
ble qualities  combined  in  every  tree  that  he 
raises  or  purchases ;  and  of  course  they  are 
not  all  essential ; — but  the  purchaser  should 
always  unite  as  many  of  these  good  proper- 
ties as  he  can. 

Soil. — The  apple  will  thrive  in  any  deep, 
rich  soil,  except  the  very  dry  or  very  wet. 
'•  A  strong  loam  of  a  calcareous  nature,"  says 
Downing,  "  is  its  favorite  soil,  in  all  coun- 
tries." Kenrick  recommends  "a  deep  pan 
soil  rather  moist  than  dry  ;"  Thomas^  "  Such 
soil  as  will  give  good  crops  of  Indian  Corn." 
Hill-sides  are  Very  much  preferable  to  plains. 
Rocky  hills,  too  steep  or  rough  for  other  cul- 
tivation, may  be  converted  into  profitable 
orcharding. 

If  the  soil  is  damp  and  low,  the  trees  should 
be  set  somewhat  higher  than  they  stood  in  the 
nursery.  The  trees  may  even  be  placed  di- 
rectly upon  the  surface  of  such  grounds,  and 
sufficient  soil  carted  around  them  to  cover 
their  roots  properly.  But  it  is  much  better  to 
dig  holes,  two  or  three  feet  deep,  and  put  into 
them  a  drainage  of  cobble  stones,  brick-bats 
or  other  rubbish. 

On  the  contrary,  if  an  orchard  is  to  be  set 


150 

out  upon  very  dry  land,  plant  the  trees  quite 
as  deep  as  they  grew  in  the  nursery,  and  give 
them  a  rich,  generous  soil  around  their  roots, 
and  a  heavy  mulching  also.  We  cannot  im- 
press it  too  strongly  upon  the  reader's  mind, 
that  drainage  is  necessary  in  quite  moist  land, 
and  that  a  deep,  rich  fertile  soil  is  essential  to 
the  success  of  an  orchard,  wherever  it  may 
be  situated. 

Distance. — Apple-trees  may  be  set  for  a 
limited  time,  say  fifteen  feet  apart  j  and,  when 
they  become  half  grown,  every  second  row 
each  way  may  be  removed  to  some  other  place, 
leaving  the  remaining  rows  thirty  feet  apart 
each  way.  Full  grown  apple-trees  require  to 
stand  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  apart,  and  this 
is  the  proper  distance  for  setting  a  permanent 
orchard. 

Transplanting.  We  have  already  given 
all  necessary  directions  for  transplanting 
trees.  The  apple  will  bear  more  abuse  in  the 
planter's  hands,  than  some  other  trees.  But, 
by  all  means,  let  this  work  be  done  well,  or 
not  at  all ;  for  an  extra  half  hour's  labor,  and 
twenty-five  cents'  worth  of  rich  soil  at  set- 
ting, will  be  re-paid  to  the  planter  an  hundred 
fold  in  the  improved  growth  and  healthiness 
of  the  trees.  •  ' 


151 

Cultivation.     We  have  stated,  in  the  first 
chapter  of  our  little  work,  that  a  fine  fruit- 
tree  is  the  combined   product  of  nature  and 
human  skill.     It  is  not  enough  therefore  to 
select  a  good  apple-tree,  and  to  plant  it  out  in 
the  best  manner.     A  great    deal  of  further 
care  must  be  bestowed  upon  it.     The  cater- 
pillar and  the  canker-worm  must  be  gaurded 
against  or  destroyed;  the  famishing  mouse 
must  not  be  suffered  to  gnaw  the  trunk  under 
the  friendly  shelter  of  the   snow-crust ;  and 
the  insidious  borer  must  be  made  to  under- 
stand that  his  intrusions  are  not  to  be  tolera- 
ted.  Moss  should  neither  be  permitted  to  over- 
grow the  trunk  and  limbs,  nor  a  thick  grass- 
sward  to  bind  itself  around  the  tree  and  ab- 
sorb the  moisture  of  the  earth  about  its  roots. 
We  have    already  given  general  and    suffi- 
cient directions  upon  this  subject.     It  should 
be  remembered  that  the  apple-tree  will  always 
be  abundantly  grateful  for  a  deep  rich  soil, 
and  generous  cultivation.      Cattle  ought  nev- 
er to  be   turned  loose  into  an  orchard,  un- 
less one  wishes  to  destroy  it.     If  it  is  not  de- 
sirable to  cultivate  the  whole  orchard,  cultivate 
a  circle  around  each  tree,  say  quite  as  many 
feet,  as  the  tree  is  inches,  in  diameter,  and  let 
the  rest  of  the  field  be  mowing-land. 


152 

Pruning.  Whenever  the  apple  needs  heavy 
pruning,  the  work  may  be  performed  at  any 
time  from  the  latter  part  of  autumn  till  early 
in  the  spring.  Light  pruning  may  be  done 
at  the  same  time,  or  it  may  be  advantageous- 
ly deferred  till  the  latter  part  of  June.  The 
apple,  once  property  formed  in  the  nursery, 
needs  little  further  pruning,  except  to  remove 
suckers,  and  dead  limbs,  (which  always  ought 
to  be  taken  off,)  and  occasionally  also  a  limb 
that  is  growing  so  as  to  deform  or  crowd  the 
head  of  the  tree. 

DESCRIPTIVE    LIST    OF    APPLES. 

Nearly  fifteen  hundred  varieties  of  the  ap- 
ple have  been  tested,  in  the  garden  of  the 
London  Horticultural  Society,  and  several 
hundred  also  in  this  Country. 

Instead  of  this  formidable,  worthless  Cata- 
logue, we  propose  to  describe  only  twenty-eight 
varieties — all  of  which  we  know  to  be  here  un- 
impeachably  excellent  fruits. 

We  have  numbered  and  described  them 
nearly  in  the  order  of  their  ripening.  This, 
as  we  have  before  remarked,  cannot  be  done 
very  accurately,  for  reasons  already  stated  • 
and,  further,  because  several  ripen  simulta* 


neously;  some  also  ripen  gradually,  while 
others  ripen  suddenly,  and  are  quickly  gone. 
Some,  more  than  others,  are  hastened  or  re- 
tarded in  their  approach  to  maturity,  by  the 
state  of  the  weather  in  different  seasons. 
&c.  &c, 

For  size,  quality,  $•£.,  see  the  Preliminary 
to  Part  II.  of  this  Book- 


154 


&§3  « 

su  i 
MI  ^ 

g     «    1       .     b 

«  2S  S  2 

«f  Ji»r 

.2   s   "•   « 

i 

P.  small  tree.  Best  ear- 
v  apple 
P.  B  and  perfumed 
P  small  round  headed 
tree,  fine 
P.  flesh  stained  with  red 
sttjpcs,  ripens  gradually 
P.  B.  ripens  gradually 
rong  upright  tree 
tree  grows  very  slow 

. 

I  it  s  7 

>        >•>        >        >|»OH' 

P  APPLES 

1  1  *  $  1  8 

III  §  "§  - 

s  %  1  g  !.£ 

fl  juhi 

i 

C        C  WJ       C       JSJ3  C 
3        3S        3        2  .—  = 

2     S|     2    ||S 
11 

C 

g   iSllli 
i  *fll*i 

<«               mow         ja 

03 

.  si  «  ,,, 

c  S    °       **  * 

3 

t>                        .a         »T  '  ^ 

w                   «3 

'S  "5 

w 

r— 

«       4  i  1 

M                         g         c.  >. 

-=  _-iil  —  " 

*S  *°    s    fe.         ••*  "^ 

I'-fi'f  iL 

1.    .?  "!   •ijt 

5 

S  ^a  5    e3          S    w 

*            OS            S5, 

»-  4T  ••  s     a,  •= 

•asn 

H     H-     .     H> 

0   bd     *             - 

DQ 

S  "  H  **•       "is 

•7vn* 

i»     ja  ^.      bo     ^s  ^  ja 

££ 

°?  1"  -  "5     j<  !L 

•axis 

c*     oo  ot     m     -«-  ci 

P 

1*1  5  5J 

g  "3  1      '  S 

«?X|       =g' 

tSfj  if. 

*    1   2  ^»    •     -  "°   a 

f[?1j!ll 
I  i  li  1  N  f 

2  3  •   M  -   o   .-  g 

• 

a 
r. 

:  4  '  •'  If  •' 

«-    £«     '     S  S  • 

II!  '  "i  • 

M     H  H     tn     ^a.  ?! 

WC?PW|0|| 

•OM 

^<     c<  ec     v     «o  to  t>- 

155 


jt      *°      j  -S      "3)^5  _  a>      •?       3          ,0 

I  i  ^  „!  aft|ji  ||  | 


i:  f"f|*  .  i,!2    isfi 

lilii 


<uo  M.  „  «  w>     5  no, 

5      3  -g  -g  J§  -TSMM     S  «-g  J-gslJ 

o*Sc  'S  "3  "o^  "c      —  —  oo      °  °  '3  "o'Q^o* 

•g&i  |  I  il  i  nil  ?  •§§  ?p?i 

i  i  B  2  si  i  r  rsii 


i!^1  tl|I:^  *!p  I  S  *Jal 


S§    g     g-S-S-8    -S     SS     S5 
'       '    '  '  "      %     SS     S  =- 


tjjr     w      o      u      wo      o      oocc      «      o«      5»S5' 
tn     O     O     O     OO     O     ZZZZ     O     £iQ     ^?OQ^| 


ab       .    .   .      e»       . 

•      ^a  act*       .      A 


•.i  1  :  -jr#    fllf  JT  il3« 

1,1 5 1  >:  i  iiii  1 1;  ifl  I 

Ell  i  i  Is  1  lip  s  si  rilll 

0-3    S    §sg«;    g    ^-3    §§§So 
?>J    H    Xctatn     &,     tfa     a:acOog_ 


O.Ci***'  "•^!>.tiw  ».W 

Iff  II  0  1  I1H  i  S! 

_tgsg  a  g  g>3  P  ^gcs^  a  tfg 


156 

The  list  just  given  comprises  twenty-eight 
varieties  of  the  apple.  For  general  cultiva- 
tion in  the  interior  of  New  England,  we  con- 
sider this  the  best  list  of  that  number  of  va- 
rieties of  which  the  reputation  is  as  yet  well 
established.  We  have  prepared  it  with  a 
great  deal  of  care,  and  have  confidence  that 
it  will  prove  satisfactory  to  the  fruit-growing 
public  who  consult  it. 

Crab  Apples  are  sometimes  desirable  for 
preserving,  &c.  The  best  two  are  the  Yellow 
Siberian  and  the  Red  Siberian.  If  any  one 
prefers  that  these  should  be  of  a  dwarfish 
size,  he  should  select  trees  that  have  been 
worked  upon  paradise  stocks. 

Those  who  would  go  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  above  descriptive  list,  can  select  from  the 
following  : 

Summer  -4?>/jfes,-^Astracan,  Benoni,  River 
(a  capital  fruit,  but  the  tree  is  a  very  poor 
bearer,)  &c.  &c. 

Autumn  Apples, — J)uchess  of  Oldenburg, 
Foundling  (or  Shirley,)  Fameuse,  (Red) 
Hamburg,  {for  cooking,)  &c.  &c. 

Winter  Apples. — American  Golden  Russet 
(very  fine,)  Minister,  Jewett's  Fine  Red,  Blue 
Pearmain,  Seaver  Sweeting,  Dutch  Mignonne, 


157 

(perhaps)  Northern  Spy,  Lady  Apple  (very 
pretty  and  also  very  small,)  Sutton  Beauty, 
Rpckport  Sweeting,  Black  Gilliflower,  Sweet 
Russet  (fine  for  baking,)  &c.  &c. 

SELECT  LIST  of  twelve  varieties. — We  sub- 
mit the  following : — Summer — Early  Harvest, 
Early  Sweet  Bough,  Williams' s  Early  Red. 
Autumn — Porter,  Leland's  Spice,  Gravenstein. 
Winter — Hubbardston  Nonesuch,  R.  I.  Green- 
ing, Baldwin,  Esopus  Spitzenburg.  Spring, 
— Danver's  Winter  Sweeting,  Roxbury  Rus- 
set. 

SELECT  LIST  of  six  varieties. — Summer — 
Williams' s  Early  Red.  Autumn — Porter, 
Leland's  Spice.  Winter — R.  I.  Greening, 
Baldwin.  Spring — Roxbury  Russet. 

A  single  Apple-Tree  for  a  city  garden, 
might  be  grafted  with  three  sorts,  viz :  Wil- 
liams's  Early  Red,  Porter,  Leland's  Spice ; — 
being  thus  limited  to  a  single  tree,  it  would 
be  better  to  buy  later  varieties. 

. ,  r>feaHT     ^.*>k>i>?3  i  V<.-y.«-U    .£?sft«*H 


10 


. 


f*. 

; 

i 


SECTION    II. 
SM«* 

DWARF    APPLE-TREES. 

.?ft#>\'*t  J 

No  one,  we  suppose,  will  attempt  to  culti- 
vate these  little  trees  in  this  country,  except- 
ing for  ornamental  purposes.  They  are  very 
pretty  garden  pets  in  the  midst  of  a  flower- 
bed, or  at  the  corners  of  alleys,  or  elsewhere 
where  fancy  may  locate  them.  They  sel- 
dom bear  more  than  a  dozen  or  twenty  apples, 
and  therefore  the  economical  orchardist,  look- 
ing to  profit  alone,  ought  not  to  consider  them 
as  worthy  of  his  attention.  To  form  these 
dwarfs,  set  grafts  of  such  apples  as  you  de- 
sire into  what  are  called  Paradise,  or  by  the 
French,  Doucin  stocks.*  These  stocks  are 
of  rather  a  tender  habit,  and  they  require  kind 
treatment,  and  a  generous  rich  soil.  Where 
a  number  of  these  trees  are  planted  together, 

*  The  Parad'se  is  a  distinct  kind  of  apples.    Its  stocks  are 
raised,  in  Europe,  from  suckers  or  from  cuttings  and  layers. 


159 

they  may  be  set  three  or  four  feet  apart. 
They  are  subject  to  the  same  diseases  and 
depredations  of  insects  to  which  apples  on 
free  stocks  (i.  e.  apple  seedling  stocks)  are  li- 
able. There  is  nothing  very  peculiar  in  the 
management  of  the  dwarf-apple.  Its  place 
is  the  garden,  not  the  field ;  still  less  will  it 
answer  to  put  these  little  trees  in  grass-ground, 
or  to  subject  them  to  rough  usage. 

Very  large  si^ed  apples,  such  as  the  Twen- 
ty Ounce  and  the  Gloria  Mundi ;  fine  looking 
apples,  such  as  Leland's  Spice,  the  Lady  Ap- 
ple, Maiden's  Blush,  Siberian  Crab,  &c.,  are 
pretty  for  this  mode  of  cultivation. 


SECTION  III. 

INSECTS,    DISEASES,    &C. 
It 

The  insect-enemies  of  the  apple  are  chiefly 
the  Caterpillar,  the  Canker  worm,  the  Borer, 
and  the  Appleworm. 

1.  The  Caterpillar.  Several  species  of  this 
insect  prey  upon  the  apple  leaf;  but  the  com- 
mon caterpillar  which  is  hatched  and  comes 
out  just  as  the  leaves  begin  to  expand,  is  the 
pest  of  the  orchard,  unless  it  is  promptly  des- 
troyed. 

The  character  and  habits  of  this  insect  are 
too  well  known  to  require  a  description  here. 

By  far  the  most  effectual  way  of  destroying 
them,  is  to  pi-ek  off  their  eggs  any  time  from 
autumn  till  the  last  of  April.  These  will  be 
found  on  the  outer  parts  of  the  tree,  just  at  the 
base  of  the  young  wood  of  the  previous  sum- 
mer's growth.  They  may  be  taken  off  with 
the  ringers,  or  cut  off  with  a  pruning  knife  or 
the  pole-shears,  which  we  have  described  un- 
der the  head  of  Implements.  (See  page  116.) 


161 

The  eggs  are  deposited  in  cylinders,  or 
rings,  about  half  an  inch  wide,  presenting  the 
appearance  of  a  small  quantity  of  brown  wax 
encircling  the  twig.  When  taken  off  with 
the  fingers,  they  separate  easily  and  leave  the 
twig  entirely  clean. 

If  this  work  has  been  neglected,  other  means 
must  be  resorted  to  for  destroying  this  insect. 
A  caterpillar-brush  affixed  to  a  pole,  is  the 
best  of  these.  Go  among  your  trees,  early  in 
the  morning  or  in  a  wet  day,  when  the  vermin 
are  all  in  their  nests,  and  you  can  easily  wipe 
them  off  with  your  brush,  before  they  shall 
have  done  any  injury. 

2.  The  Canker-worm.  Whole  orchards 
in  New  England  have  been  destroyed  by  the 
ravages  of  this  insect.  Happily  it  does  not 
make  its  visits  every  year,  but  only  after  long 
intervening  periods, — making  its  appearance 
gradually  from  year  to  year  until  in  the  third 
or  fourth  summer,  the  orchard  will  appear  as 
if  it  had  been  burnt  over  with  fire. 

Whenever  the  ground  is  not  frozen,  from 
the  first  of  November  till  the  middle  of  May, 
the  female  of  the  canker-worm  crawls  up  the 
trees  to  lay  her  eggs.  The  most  effectual  way 
to  prevent  her  ascent  that  we  are  acquainted 
with,  is  to  tar  the  trees. 


162 


With  this  design,  says  Kenrick,  the  bark 
around  the  circumference  of  the  trunk  is 
scraped  smooth,  and  the  crevices  in  it  where 
the  application  is  to  be  made  are  filled  with 
clay  or  mortar.  Over  this  a  strip  of  canvass, 
three  or  four  inches  wide,  is  bound  around  the 
tree,  the  lower  band  consisting  of  a  large  tow 
cord,  to  prevent  the  running  down  of  the  tar 
and  its  consequent  injurious  effect  on  the  tree. 
On  this  strip  the  tar  is  laid  with  a  brush. 
The  tarring  ought  to  be  applied,  every  after- 
noon toward  sunset  when  the  weather  is 
moderate  and  the  ground  unfrozen,  from  the 
first  hard  frosts  in  October  till  the  latter  part 
of  May.  A  small  portion  of  soft  grease  may 
be  mixed  with  the  tar  to  preserve  it  from  dry- 
ing, and  in  this  way  it  will  answer  to  visit  the 
trees  every  other  day.  Some  farmers  apply 
the  tar  directly  to  large  trees  without  the 
canvass,  and  we  have  not  seen  any  injury 
resulting  from  the  practice.  Tarring  two 
years  in  succession  in  the  months  of  March 
and  April  has  entirely  rid  orchards  of  this 
pest. 

Downing  says,  old  India  Rubber,  melted  in 
an  iron  vessel  over  a  very  hot  fire,  forms  a 
very  adhesive  fluid,  which  is  not  effected  by 


163 

the  weather,  and  is  preferred  by  those  who 
have  tried  it,  as  being  a  more  convenient  and 
serviceable  article  than  tar,  for  smearing  the 
bandages. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  object 
of  the  tarring  process,  is  to  stop  and  entrap 
the  female  in  her  ascent  to  lay  her  eggs.  It 
will  readily  be  seen  therefore  that  the  omission 
of  a  single  night  favorable  to  the  movements 
of  the  grubs,  may  prove  fatal  to  the  remedy 
for  that  season,  and  defeat  the  whole  object  of 
the  labor  previously  bestowed.  (Kenrick.) 

Various  other  methods  of  destroying  this 
insect  have  been  tried,  but  with  only  partial 
success.  The  above  described  mode,  faithful- 
ly followed,  we  have  known  to  be  attended 
with  perfect  success. 

3.  The  Borer.  This  insect  enters  the  tree, 
chiefly  from  an  inch  or  two  below,  to  a  foot 
above  the  surface  of  the  ground ;  but  some- 
times even  as  high  up  as  the  branches.  The 
eggs  are  laid,  from  the  last  of  April  till  into 
June.  Upon  small  trees,  an  effectual  preven- 
tive consists  in  washing  the  parts  of  the  trunk 
exposed  to  attack,  with  a  solution  of  one 
pound  of  good  potash  dissolved  in  about  four 
or  five  quarts  of  water.  A  small  conical 


164 

mound  of  ashes,  leached  or  unleached,  put 
around  the  tree  in  the  spring,  sometimes 
affords  them  sufficient  protection.  A  wrapper 
of  brown  paper  previously  saturated  with 
strong  tobacco  water,  would  doubtless  prevent 
the  insect  from  depositing  its  eggs. 

The  presence  of  the  borer  already  in  a  tree, 
is  indicated  by  the  dust,  (resembling  a  spoon- 
full  or  more  of  saw  dust,)  which  he  ejects 
from  his  hole.  If  taken  early,  you  may  de- 
stroy him  with  the  point  of  a  knife.  When 
he  is  farther  in  the  wood,  use  a  flexible  barbed 
wire,  with  which  to  extract  him  or  punch 
him  to  death.  A  good  ear  will  be  able  to  hear 
the  success  of  the  latter  operation. 

4.  The  Apple-worm.  This  insect  frequent- 
ly destroys  or  greatly  injures  more  than  one 
half  the  entire  crop  of  a  tree.  Thomas  says 
the  best  preventive  is  to  allow  swine  to  eat  the 
wormy  fruit,  as  fast  as  it  falls,  thus  destroying 
the  enclosed  insects  and  preventing  their 
spread.  A  quart  of  salt  sprinkled  over  the 
ground  under  a  large  tree  each  year,  will  be 
found  to  diminish  the  number  of  these  insects, 
and  add  also  to  the  health  and  productiveness 
of  the  tree.  In  all  your  warfare  with  insects,  do 
not  forget  that  a  prompt,  early  movement  is 
nine  tenths  of  the  victory. 


5.  The  Woolly  Aphis.  This  insect,  (Aphis 
langinera,)  called  erroneously  in  Europe  the 
American  Blight,  has  as  yet  rarely  made  its 
appearance  in  this  country.  In  France  and 
Germany,  and  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  it  is 
the  pest  of  the  orchard. 

The  appearance  of  this  insect  is  like  a 
small  quantity  of  down  or  white  frost,  in  the 
forks  and  crevices  of  the  twigs  and  branches. 
This,  examined  with  a  glass,  proves  to  be 
composed  of  an  immense  number  of  woolly 
lice.  If  not  destroyed,  they  will  increase  very 
rapidly.  Fortunately  the  remedy  is  an  easy 
one.  London  says  it  is  only  necessary  to 
wash  the  affected  parts,  with  diluted  sulphuric 
acid — one  ounce  by  measure  of  the  sulphuric 
acid  of  the  shops,  mixed  with  ten  ounces  of 
water.  This  liquid  should  be  applied,  by 
means  of  a  piece  of  sponge  or  rag  tied  to  a 
stick,  the  operator  taking  especial  care  not  to 
get  it  upon  his  hands  or  clothes.  One  appli- 
cation of  it,  assisted  by  the  disseminating 
powers  of  the  next  succeeding  rain,  will  effect- 
ually destroy  these  insects. 

We  noticed  a  slight  appearance  of  the 
woolly  aphis  in  the  nursery  last  summer. 


166 

Black  Canker.  The  trunk  or  limbs  of  trees, 
affected  with  this  disorder,  should  have  the 
diseased,  black  outer  bark  carefully  shaved 
off,  in  the  month  of  June ;  after  which  appl  y 
a  generous  coating  of  the  gum-shellac  com- 
position, described  in  the  Chapter  on  Priming. 
We  have  practiced  this  with  great  success. 

Blight. — Apple-trees  are  sometimes  affected 
by  a  disease,  similar  to  what  is  called  the 
Pear  Blight.  For  a  description  of  the  disease 
and  the  best  known  preventives  and  remedies, 
see  the  Chapter  on  The  Pear. 

Bearing  year.  In  common  management, 
this  takes  place  each  alternate  year.  By 
thinning  out  half  the  blossoms  on  the  bearing 
year,  you  may  easily  have  about  an  equal 
quantity  of  fruit,  every  season.  The  bearing 
year  may  be  entirely  changed,  by  taking  off 
all  the  blossoms  or  young  fruit  on  that  year, 
and  allowing  them  to  remain,  on  the  year 
which  we  wish  to  make  the  bearing  one. 

We  have  a  fine  Baldwin,  one  limb  of  which 
was  several  years  ago  struck  by  a  frost,  while 
in  full  blossom.  When  the  other  parts  of  the 
tree  are  loaded  with  fruit,  this  has  none  at 
all.  On  the  alternate  years,  this  bears  two  or 


167 

three  bushels  of  fine  apples,  while  there  are 
scarcely  as  many  single  specimens,  on  the 
whole  of  the  rest  of  the  tree.  What  nature 
did  in  this  case,  art  may.  easily  effect  upon 
other  trees, 


SECTION  IV. 

GATHERING    AND    RIPENING    THE    APPLE. 

The  following  remarks  are  intended,  chiefly , 
to  apply  to  winter  varieties  of  the  fruit. 

Mr  Pell,  the  great  orchard ist  of  Ulster  Co., 
N.  Y.,  reccommends  to  gather  the  apples 
carefully  by  hand  on  a  dry  day ;  lay  them 
gently  by  hand  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  deep 
on  the  floor  of  a  cool  dry  room,  and  let  them 
dry  and  season  there,  for  three  weeks.  Then 
carefully  take  them  up,  on  a  clear  day,  and 
pack  them  by  hand,  in  clean  dry  barrels, 
rilling  the  barrels  so  full  that  a  gentle  pressure 
will  be  necessary  in  order  to  head  them  up. 
In  this  way  they  may  be  kept  without  rotting, 
and  safely  sent  to  any  part  of  Europe,  or  the 
West  Indies.  (Genessee  Farmer^  Smaller 
quantities  of  apples  may  be  put  up,  in  com- 
mon, tight,  wooden  buckets.  The  best  place 
for  keeping  them,  is  a  dry  airy  room  or  cellar, 
of  which  the  temperature  ranges  from  35°  to 


169 

45°  Fahr.  Thomas  recommends  packing 
alternate  layers  of  apples  and  dry  chaff  mixed 
with  a  small  portion  of  dry,  pulverized  lime. 
Apples  for  exportation  are  often  wrapped  each 
one  separately  in  clean  soft  coarse  paper  like 
oranges,  and  then  pat  up,  in  boxes  or  barrels 
as  above  directed. 

The  common  practice  with  our  best  or- 
chardists  here  in  Worcester,  is  to  gather 
winter  apples,  during  the  last  week  in  Septem- 
ber, generally. 

The  fruit  is  taken  from  the  tree,  when  it  is 
not  moist  with  dew  or  rain  ;  it  is  at  the  same 
time  assorted  and  carefully  placed  directly  in 
clean,  dry,  tight  flour  barrels.  The  barrels, 
when  filled,  are  placed  on  the  north  side  of  a 
fence  or  building,  or  in  some  other  cool,  shady 
out-door  situation,  and  then  covered  with 
boards,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep  out  the 
rain  and  cold.  Here  they  are  left,  until  the 
danger  of  freezing  requires  them  to  be  removed 
into  a  cellar.  The  best  fruit  cellar  is  one 
which  is  dry,  airy  and  of  a  uniform  tempera- 
ture of  about  40°  Fahr.  Fruit  will  very 
soon  decay  in  a  close,  damp  cellar,  particularly 
if  the  cellar  is  also  warm.  Late-keeping 
apples,  like  the  Roxbury  Russet,  should  be 


iro 

* 

headed-up  in  the  barrels,  as  soon  as  they  are 
gathered,  and  it  is  not  well  to  open  them,  un- 
til the  latter  part  of  winter,  unless  they  are 
wanted  for  use  sooner. 


Iff! 


itnixkfft  /Vt    '  •  v    -  <-^> 

SECTION    V. 

USES    OF    THE    APPLE. 

We  shall  treat  of  this  topic  quite  summari- 
ly, lest  we  trespass  upon  ground  already 
occupied  by  the  numerous  Cook  Books  and 
Kitchen  Guides,  with  which  species  of  litera- 
ture the  public  has  been  so  plentifully  sup- 
plied. 

Uses  of  the  Pulp.  From  the  first  of  Au^ 
gust,  for  ten  or  twelve  months,  the  finer  sorts 
are  extensively  used  for  the  dessert. 

In  the  kitchen  it  enters  largely  into  the 
composition  of  numerous  articles  of  food*, 
sauces,  jellies,  pies,  tarts,  &c.  &c.  It  is  boiled 
in  dumplings ;  and  it  is  roasted  for  the  sick* 
Apple-Butter,  or  apple-sauce,  is  a  common 
side  dish  upon  every  farmer's  table. 

Dried  Apples  are  also  much  used  for  pies, 
puddings,  &c.  Good  preserves  may  be  made 
of  this  fruit.  The  pulp  of  the  apple  mixed 


172 

intimately  with  lard,  constitutes  the  pomatum 
used  by  perfumers. 

Sweet  apples  especially,  and  even  sour  ones, 
are  a  valuable  crop  to  cultivate  for  feeding 
swine  or  cattle.  Some  intelligent  farmers 
consider  them  quite  as  valuable  as  potatoes, 
for  this  purpose. 

For  milch  cows  and  other  cattle,  and  for 
swine,  we  believe  trees  bearing  sweet  apples 
might  be  made  far  more  profitable  than  any 
of  the  cider  orchards  ever  were ;  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  moral  benefits  which  every  farmer 
would  derive,  from  feeding  to  his  four-footed 
hogs,  what  he  formerly  was  sometimes  wont 
to  employ  as  a  means  of  making  a  two-footed 
hog  of  himself. 

Uses  of  the  Juice.  The  juice  of  the  apple 
is  called  Cider.  Cider  is  commonly  made  of 
the  refuse  apples  of  the  orchard,  mixed  togeth- 
er. But  to  make  the  best  cider,  use  mellow 
sweet  apples  only.  Grind  them  finely  in  a 
clean  mill,  let  the  pomace  lay  in  the  trough  of 
the  mill,  two  or  three  days  or  even  a  week,  if 
it  can  be  without  fermentation.  This  gives  a 
fine  color,  and  a  peculiarly  rich,  saccharine  fla- 
vor to  the  liquor,  not  otherwise  obtainable. 

Strain  the  liquor,  as  it  comes  from  the  press. 


173 

through  hair  cloth  or  fine  wire  sieves,  and 
put  it  up,  into  clean,  tight  barrels,  or  hogs- 
heads. These  being  filled  full,  and  the  bung 
left  out,  are  placed  in  a  cool  airy  cellar,  As 
fast  as  the  cider  works  over,  replenish  the  bar- 
rel. When  it  has  done  working  or  ferment- 

O 

ing,  rack  it  off  carefully  into  another  bar- 
rel. Let  it  have  opportunity  to  work  a  sec- 
ond time,  if  necessary,  and  then  rack  it  off 
again.  It  may  now  be  put  into  bottles  or  tight 
barrels,  and  be  kept  for  use.  Bottled  cider 
may  be  kept,  and  will  improve  for  years,  like 
wine.  Fill  the  bottles  up  to  their  necks,  cork 
them  tightly,  and  lay  them  on  their  sides  in 
layers  of  sand,  in  a  cool  cellar.  It  is  an  ex- 
cellent plan  to  seal  them  with  wax.  Cider  is 
generally  made,  with  much  less  labor  than  we 
have  just  described.  Nine  tenths  of  the  cider 
made  in  New  England,  is  probably  not  rack- 
ed off  at  all  from  the  barrels  in  which  it  was 
first  put  at  the  mill.  Once  racking,  we  sup- 
pose, would  generally  answer  for  all  ordinary 
purposes. 

From  sweet  cider,  molasses  may  be  made, 
by  evaporation  ;  and  from  this  molasses,  sug- 
ar may  be  produced.     A  barrel  of  cider,  stand- 
ing out  doors  in  summer  with  the  bung  out, 
11 


174 

will  turn  into  vinegar.     Sweet-apple  cider  is 
by  far  the  best  for  all  these  uses. 

Sweet  cider  may  be  boiled  away,  over  a 
slow  fire,  and  afterward  carefully  put  into 
a  clean  cask,  where  it  will  keep  well  for  a 
long  while.  This  boiled  cider  is  very  useful 
in  preparing  pies  &>c.  Cider  is  sometimes 
greatly  strengthened,  by  freezing  it  ;  the  bet- 
ter part  of  it  resists  the  action  of  the  frost, 
and  may  thus  be  separated  from  the  inferior, 
watery  particles. 


CHAPTER   II. 


THE    PEAR. 

"If  the  long  period  of  nearly  ten  months,*' 
says  General  Dearborn,  "  during  which  the 
numerous  most  admired  varieties  of  the  pear 
are  successfully  matured  for  our  tables,  is 
taken  into  consideration,  with  the  diversity  of 
graceful  forms,  beauty  of  color,  agreeable 
aroma  and  delicious  flavor  of  many  of  them, 
it  may,  with  propriety,  be  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  list  of  fruits,  in  all  the  states  where 
the  orange  cannot  be  cultivated." 

The  pear  is  the  favorite  fruit  of  the  more 
intelligent  and  scientific  cultivators  of  the 
present  century,  and  its  finer  qualities  have 
in  consequence  been  wonderfully  developed 
within  the  last  sixty  or  seventy  years.  But 
the  passion  for  new  varieties — amounting  al- 
most to  a  mania  with  some  distinguished  hor- 
ticulturists— has  retarded  rather  than  accele- 


176 

rated  the  general  dissemination  of  the  most 
truly  valuable  kinds  of  the  fruit. 

The  pear — so  difficult  to  raise  here  from  the 
seed — when  once  it  has  become  a  well-rooted 
plant  of  three  or  four  years'  growth,  and  as 
many  feet  in  height,  is  a  fr.uit  tree  of  easy 
cultivation,  of  great  hardihood  and  produc- 
tiveness ;  it  is  subject  to  few  diseases,  and  of- 
ten attains  to  a  great  age. 

A  pear  tree  in  Illinois,  on  the  authority  of 
Rev.  H.  W.  Beecher,  produced  in  1834,  while 
yet  not  over  forty  years  of  age,  a  crop  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty-four  bushels  of  pears  ! 
An  English  writer  mentions  a  pear  tree  in 
Herefordshire,  Eng.,  from  which  fifteen  hogs- 
heads of  perry  were  made  in  a  single  year. 
This  tree  covered  more  than  half  an  acre  of 
ground,  the  branches  bending  down  and  tak- 
ing root,  and,  in  turn,  producing  others  in  the 
same  way. 

M.  Bosc,  mentions  several  pear-trees  in 
Europe,  which  are  known  to  be  nearly  four 
hundred  years  old.  (See  Downing 's  Fruits 
and  Fruit  Trees.} 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  states 
of  Massachusetts  and  New  York  have  each  a 
patriarchal  pear-tree  still  standing  in  memory 
of  their  early  colonial  governors. 


177 

The  old  Endicott  pear-tree — which  may 
be  seen  from  the  cars  of  the  Essex  Rail  Road, 
as  they  pass  through  the  town  of  Danvers  in 
this  State— now  numbers  .  more  than  two 
hundred  and  twenty  years.  It  still  rears  its 
head  where  it  was  planted  by  Gov.  Endicott, 
and  bravely  stretches  forth  its  vigorous  arms, 
dropping  the  autumn  fruits  of  its  green  old 
age  into  the  bosoms  of- a  distant  posterity. 

The  Stuyvesant  pear-tree,  planted  by  Gov. 
Stuy vesant  of  the  Dutch  colony  of  New  York, 
more  than  two  centuries  ago,  was  very  recent- 
ly— if  it  is  not  now — standing,  healthy  and 
productive,  in  the  upper  part  of  what  was 
then  the  city  of  Nieuw  Amsterdam. 

The  pear-tree  is  extensively  and  profitably 
cultivated  in  this  country,  both  as  a  standard 
and  a  dwarf.  With  high  cultivation,  and 
very  careful  and  judicious  management,  a 
larger  crop  and  also  much  more  valuable  spe- 
cimens of  the  fruit  might  be  produced  from 
an  acre  of  dwarf  pear-trees,  than  from  one  of 
standards. 


SECTION    I. 


STANDARD    PEAR    TREES. 

Choice  of  a  Tree.  A  good  standard  pear- 
tree  for  orchard  planting,  should  be  from  five 
to  eight  feet  high,  and  not  larger,  unless  it  has 
been  previously  re -set,  once  or  twice,  when 
of  the  height  of  three  to  seven  feet ;  for  the 
roots  of  the  pear  are  not  abundantly  supplied 
with  fibres,  and  large  trees  of  it  cannot  there- 
fore be  safely  moved,  the  first  time,  without 
very  great  care. 

The  tree  should  branch  out  at  a  point  to  suit 
one's  fancy,  from  about  four  to  six  feet  above 
the  ground,  according  to  its  general  size. 
The  top  ought  to  be  well  balanced,  diverging 
outward  and  upward,  so  that  the  head  of  the 
tree  may  appear  to  promise  to  grow  in  a  some- 
what conical  or  pyramidal  form.  Every 
part  of  the  trunk  and  limbs  should  be  free 
from  moss  and  black  canker.  The  length  of 


179 

the  last  season's  growth  is  a  good  evidence  of 
the  health  of  the  tree.  The  trunk  should  be 
straight,  smooth  and  stocky.  The  root  ought 
to  be  well  shaped,  neither  one-sided,  nor  very 
destitute  of  fibres.  As  in  purchasing  apple- 
trees,  one  must  not  expect  to  have  all  these 
good  qualities  combined  in  every  pear-tree 
he  obtains  from  a  nursery,  but  the  purchaser 
should  always  endeavor  to  unite  as  many  of 
them  as  he  can,  even  though  he  should  be  com- 
pelled to  pay  a  greater  price  for  the  trees. 

Soil.  "The  best  soil  for  the  pear,"  says 
Downing,  "is  a  strong  loam  of  moderate 
depth  on  a  dry  subsoil."  Kenrick  recom- 
mends "  rich  soils  and  gentle  declivities,  not 
moist  situations."  Thomas  advises  the  same 
soil  as  for  the  apple.  On  a  cold  soil  with  a 
clayey  subsoil,  the  trees  are  stunted  and  short- 
lived, and  the  fruit  is  of  an  inferior  quality. 
We  should  prefer  a  deep,  rich  sandy  loam  on 
a  dryish  subsoil, — such  land  as  would  pro- 
duce eighty  or  a  hundred  bushels  of  Indian 
corn  to  the  acre.  For  setting  the  pear  on 
damp  or  very  dry  soils,  see  observations  in 
the  chapter  on  The  Apple.  If  the  subsoil  is 
heavy  clay,  it  will  be  better  to  cultivate  dwarf 
pears  only,  unless  the  places  for  the  pear-root- 


180 

ed  trees  have  been  prepared,  by  digging  large 
deep  holes,  and  filling  them  with  rich,  sandy 
loam,  having  a  drainage  underneath. 

Distance.  Pears  may  be  set,  for  a  term  of 
years,  at  a  distance  of  ten  to  twelve  feet  apart 
each  way.  When  they  are  half  grown,  take 
out  every  alternate  row  each  way,  and  the 
remaining  rows — twenty  to  twenty-four  feet 
apart — will  be  at  the  proper  distance  for  a 
permanent  pear  orchard.  An  entirely  safe 
mode  of  removing  the  trees  of  these  alternate 
rows,  is  described  under  section  3d,  of  the 
chapter  on  Transplanting.  The  peach  and 
the  pear  may  be  thus  set  alternately,  and  the 
former  will  be  dead  and  gone,  before  the  latter 
will  need  the  space  occupied  by  it. 

Transplanting.  The  pear  is  a  more  costly 
tree  than  the  apple,  and  it  will  not  bear  so 
rough  treatment;  we  therefore  advise  to  be 
careful  in  transplanting  it.  We  have  already 
given  sufficient  directions  for  performing  this 
work.  (See  the  Chapter  on  Transplanting, 
and  also  that  on  the  Apple.) 

Cultivation.  Observe  the  same  directions 
as  those  given  in  the  chapter  on  The  Apple. 
Read  also  what  is  said  under  the  head  of 
Root-pruned  dwarf-pears.  Wood  ashes,  bone 


181 

dust,  and  a  very  small  quantity  of  pot-ash 
dissolved  in  water— say  two  or  three  Ibs.  to 
a  cart  load  of  other  manure — are  fine  fertilizers 
for  the  pear. 

Pruning.  The  standard  pear  requires  less 
pruning  than  any  other  fruit  tree.  Whatever 
applications  of  the  knife  may  seem  necessary, 
may  be  guided  by  the  directions  given  in  the 
chapter  on  The  Apple. 

Duration  of  Varieties,  $*c.  Some  theoret- 
ical writers  both  in  Europe  and  in  this  coun- 
try, have  maintained  that  the  older  varieties 
of  the  pear — and  also  of  other  fruit-trees — 
are  deteriorating;  that  through  the  infirmi- 
ties of  age  many  of  them  have  become,  and 
others  are  gradually  becoming  unworthy  of 
cultivation.  It  is  certainly  true,  that  many 
of  the  fine  old  pears  have  in  some  localities 
neither  the  appearance  nor  the  flavor  that 
they  once  had.  But  neglected  cultivation, 
diseased  stocks,  bad  soils,  unfavorable  cli- 
mates, etc.,  have  most  probably  done  the  mis- 
chief which  has  been  lamented  as  the  effects 
of  old  age.  And  this  is  the  opinion  of  Pro- 
fessor De  Candolle,  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished physiologists  of  the  present  century.  • 
And  further,  it  has  been  ingeniously  main- 


182 

tallied  that  a  bud  inserted  upon  a  thrifty  stock, 
is  essentially  the  same  thing  for  practical 
purposes  as  a  seed  planted  in  the  ground. 
If  this  be  true,  let  us  hope — at  least  till  we 
have  better  evidence  to  the  contrary — that 
our  finer  sorts  of  pears  and  other  fruits  may 
continue  to  be  among  the  luxuries  of  rural 
life,  so  long  as  "  the  earth  bears  a  plant,  or 
the  sea  rolls  a  wave." 

DESCRIPTIVE     LISTS    OF     PEARS    FOR     CULTIVATION 
ON    STANDARD    TREES. 

The  general  remarks  introductory  to  this 
part  of  our  work  and  also  to  our  Descriptive 
Lists  of  Apples,  would  be  appropriate  here. 

As  with  the  apple,  a  similar  diversity  of 
opinion  prevails  in  regard  to  the  comparative 
merits  of  many  varieties  of  this  fruit;  the 
different  purposes  for  which  one  may  wish  to 
cultivate  it, — ^for  his  own  use,  for  market,  for 
exhibition,  &c.  &c. — are  even  more  numer- 
ous ;  and  there  is  as  great  a  number  of  kinds 
from  which  taste,  fancy  or  whim  may  make 
a  selection. 

Seven  hundred  varieties  of  the  pear  have 
been  tested,  in  the  experimental  garden  of  the 


183 

London  Horticultural  Society  ;  and,  at  the 
Twentieth  Annual  Exhibition  of'the  Mass, 
Hort.  Society,  two  hundred  and  sixty  sorts 
were  exhibited,  from  the  Pomological  Garden 
at  Salem  in  this  State.  As  in  the  lists  of  ap- 
ples, we  shall  present  no  such  frightful  cata- 
logues, to  confuse  and  perplex  those  who  may 
do  us  the  honor  to  consult  our  pages.  If  one 
of  the  most  extensive  cultivators  of  the  pear 
in  America  could  not  furnish  Downing  with 
the  names  of  more  than  twenty  varieties  of 
unvarying  and  unquestionable  excellence, 
surely  thirty  or  forty  varieties  will  be  deemed 
sufficient  for  so  small  a  work  as  ours.  We 
arrange  and  number  the  pears  in  the  lists, 
about  in  the  order  of  their  ripening.  But  as 
with  other  fruits,  some  ripen  contemporane- 
ously ; — some  ripen  nearly  all  at  a  time,  while 
others  ripen  gradually  for  several  weeks-. 
The  soil  and  location  also  have  considerable 
effect  upon  the  time  of  a  fruit's  maturity,  par- 
ticularly of  the  pear. 

For  Tables  of  Quality  and  Size,  (fee.,  see 
the  Preliminary  Remarks  to  Part  II. 


184 


. 

3-0         3   S 


4= 

•  o-  « 


-  T 

111  si 

lil  >! 

si8.  ;" 


^ 

3 


H 

c- 


o 

02 

H 


- 


alp  p 


«T 

si 

eu"-  £ 

04 

fc£ 

*a 

TT 

g 

a 

g 

? 

. 

B 

o 

tL 

fi 

§;- 

|||2 

£ 
- 

ears  you 

ei) 

13 

a 
cd 

K 

s 

1 

s 

a 

j 

'"     ?L 

!»•;-" 

1 

»•=> 
2^ 

.1 

ii 

c 

5 

S   > 

nil  -S." 

c 

S  2 

s-g 

•c2i 

?T- 

-  ^ 

-r  — 

c    . 

0 

1^ 

!?-? 

=  " 

ll 

-> 
Sg 

>~ 

>°: 

Is 

i! 

S 

- 

> 

h 

FH 

> 

H 

a 

FOBM. 

•i 

£ 

tc 

ill 

ong  pyr. 

& 

1 

U) 

i 

ti) 

> 
c. 

h! 

C   CD  !^ 

- 

£- 

^ 

g- 

0 

"" 

9«f: 

, 

UOLOB. 

0. 

IS 

t'c 

0) 

3     ^     . 

so 

fel 

3 
>» 

ti 

1 

*o 

tB 

I 

O 

m 

be 

a 

"s 

3 

Q. 

•    •  a> 

3   3 

«  ti 

3 

S. 

fcii 
3 

CQ 

02 

C. 

CO 

1 

1 

'H 

^-E-!r" 

"ITfl* 

DC 

ti 

-?? 

X2 

^ 

cc 

* 

.0 

•azis  | 

CN 

£ 

00  CO  — 

CO 

5 

'- 

**-- 

H 

• 

• 

• 

1 

• 

i^ 

c 

ca 

| 

5 

2 

e 

O 

I 

QQ    • 

1 

E 

c 

R 

Madeleine, 

Jargonelle, 

|1| 
III 

Rostiezer, 

Andrews, 

< 

CO 

Golden  Beu 

i 

•OH 

*^ 

• 

cc-nft 

CO 

^ 

ao 

o> 

J=! 

185 


I  i 


tS     tSSS     tf     tJ  H>     >  S§j     g     s 

O     000     O     O      g^feS     I      >     OQ     Q      * 


i  III   i  °°m  g   §i  ii  ii  i 


>:    '  .•§  Js    '«        v  i 

s  III  1 1  NfiH  «  I  ii  1 1  i| ! 

CO g  ^  03      >B      fa      gfa-j^ga^  Q  o  m>      _;      u      ee£      _3_ 

-   ojcos:   jg   s   ^^sg^g{  g^  g  ^^   &   g   grg   3  . 


186 

We  have  given  in  our  General  List  thirty- 
one  varieties  of  the  pear  which  we  deem  the 
most  valuable  for  one's  own  consumption  or 
for  the  New  England  markets. 

If  any  person  desires  a  more  extended  cat- 
alogue, he  may  select  from  the  following: — 

Summer — Julienne,  Muscadine,  Passans 
du  Portugal  (fine,)  Summer  Franc  Real,  Wil- 
liams's  Early. 

Autumn — Dunmofe,  Napoleon  (better  on 
quince,)  Sieulle,  Thompson's,  Surpasse  Virga- 
lieu,  Verte  Longue,  Bezi  de  la  Motte,  Beurre- 
de  Capiaumont,  Beurre  d'Anjou,  Doyenne 
Boussouck  ;  (the  latter  two  do  well  on  quince.) 
Also,  (worthy  of  trial,)  Swan's  Orange. 

Winter— Glout  Morceau,  Knight's  Monarch, 
Prince's  St.  Germain.  Winter  Baking  Pears. 
The  Iron  or  Black  Worcester,  Catillac,  Bell  or 
Pound,  are  the  best  cultivated  in  New  England. 

We  now  propose  a  select  list  of  fourteen 
pears,  which  we  hope  may  prove  satisfactory 
to  those  whose  ambition  is  for  the  truly  valua- 
ble rather  than  for  a  multiplicity  of  varieties. 

SELECT  LIST.  Summer.— Madeleine,  Bart- 
lett,  Rostiezer. 

Autumn — St.  Ghislain,  Buffum,  Louise 
Bonne  de  Jersey,  Henry  IV.,  Seckel,  Flemish 
Beauty,  Urbaniste,  and  Dix, 


THE 


187 


Winter—  Vicar  of 
Aremberg,  Winter  Nelis. 

SMALLER  SELECT  LIST  of  seven  varieties* 
Summer  —  Madeleine,  Bartlett. 

Autumn  —  L.  Bonne  de  Jersey,  Seckel,  Dix, 

Winter—  Vicar  of  Winkfield,  Winter  Nelis. 

STILL  SMALLER  LIST  of  three  varieties. 
Summer  —  Bartlett.  Autumn  —  Flemish  Beau- 
ty. Winter  —  Vicar  of  Winkfield. 

Those  Wishing  but  a  single  tree,  would  do 
well  to  have  it  grafted  with  one  or  all  of  the 
last  three  named  varieties  ;  in  the  latter  case, 
putting-  the  Vicar  on  the  top  of  the  tree,  and 
the  others  lower  down. 

The  Bartlett  has  attained  a  greater  popu- 
larity in  the  United  States,  than  has  been  ac- 
quired by  any  other  variety  of  the  pear. 
This  is  owing  to  a  combination  of  valuable 
properties  which  it  possesses.  The  hardihood 
and  early  productiveness  of  the  tree,  the  facili- 
ty with  which  it  adapts  itself  to  different  soils. 
its  fine  growth  and  general  health,  etc.,  to- 
gether with  the  large  size,  beautiful  appear- 
ance and  good  flavor  of  the  fruit,  have  earned 
it  a  reputation  among  its  brethren,  the  right 
to  which  several  rivals  are  already  beginning 
to  contest. 


SECTION  II. 


DWARF    PEARS. 

The  pear  may  be  advantageously  cultivated 
as  a  dwarf.  -Indeed,  this  is  almost  the  only 
mode  in  which  the  fruit  is  raised  for  the  mar- 
kets of  Paris.  And  in  this  country,,  quince- 
bottomed  pear  trees  are  coming  into  extensive 
favor  with  those  who  have  had  experience  in 
managing  them.  Root-pruned  dwarfs  are 
less  cultivated,  but  chiefly,  we  suppose,  be- 
cause the  manual  operation  and  effects  of  root- 
pruning  are  as  yet  but  very  little  known  in 
this  country. 

Amateur  cultivators  may  amuse  themselves 
in  rendering  the  pear  still  more '  diminutive, 
by  working  it  upon  the  common  white  thorn, 
or  the  mountain  ash.  The  point  of  grafting 
should  be  just  under  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
By  commencing  early  with  the  root-pruning- 
process  already  described,  these  little  dwarfs, 


189 

particularly  those  on  the  thorn,  may  be  kept 
down  to  a  size  scarcely  above  that  of  a  goose- 
berry bush,  and  when  in  fruit  they  are  very 
pretty.  They  are,  however,  shorter  lived 
than  the  dwarf  of  a  larger  size.  In  China, 
the  different  species  even  of  the  largest  grow- 
ing forest  trees,  are  dwarfed  to  a  similar  di- 
mirmti veness,  by  a  modification  of  Layering 
already  described.  These  Chinese  dwarfs, 
once  formed,  are  said  to  live  and  bear  fruit  for 
a  great  number  of  years. 

Root  Pruned  Dwarf  Pears.  The  mode  of 
dwarfing  the  pear  by  root-pruning,  has  been 
very  successful  in  England ;  and,  from  some 
little  experience  of  our  own,  we  are  strongly 
inclined  to  believe  that  it  will  prove  equally 
adapted  to  our  New  England  soil  and  climate. 
Trees  of  one  to  three  inches  in  diameter, 
branching  low,  and  of  a  stocky  habit,  are  the 
best  subjects  to  operate  upon.  The  process  of 
forming  them  is  simple,  thus  : 

Dig  a  circular  ditch  around  the  tree,  about 
one  foot  wide  and  two  feet  deep.  The  ditch 
should  be  somewhere  about  as  many  feet  dis- 
tant from  the  tree,  as  the  latter  is  inches  in 
diameter ;  for  rather  large  trees  the  distance 
should  be  less  than  in  this  proportion ;  but  the 
12 


190 

judgment  of  a  skillful  operator  will  be  a  suffi- 
ciently safe  guide  in  all  cases.  In  digging 
the  ditch,  the  roots  of  the  tree  should  all  be 
cut  off  and  pared  smoothly  even  with  the 
inner  side  of  the  ditch ;  and  the  outer  frag- 
ments of  the  roots  should  be  removed  as 
cleanly  from  the  surrounding  ground  as  It 
may  be  convenient.  This  done,  fill  the  ditch 
with  generous,  rich  soil  intermingled  with  the 
specific  fertilizer  for  the  pear  (Seepage  100.) 
Head  in  the  top  of  the  tree  judiciously,  cut- 
ting off  from  one-fourth  to  three-fourths  of 
the  growth  upon  the  last  year's  scions.  It  is 
well,  though  not  strictly  necessary,  to  cover 
these  little  wounds  with  the  gum-shellac  com- 
position. This  work  may  be  done  any  time 
from  the  first  of  November  to  the  middle  of 
April,  except  when  the  ground  is  wet,  freezing, 
or  frozen.  Root-pruned  dwarfs  will  need  this 
treatment  as  often  as  once  in  three  years,  and 
frequently,  under  high  cultivation,  they  will 
require  it  once  in  two  years,  or  even  annually. 
A  close  observation  of  the  effects  of  the  prun- 
ing will  be  the  best  guide  as  to  the  necessity 
of  repeating  it. 

Almost  any  large  fruit  tree,  other  than  the 
pear,  which  does  not  grow  well,  or   appears 


191 

unthrifty ,  may  be  greatly  benefited  by  a  sin- 
gle application  of  the  treatment  just  above 
described. 

All  varieties  probably  both  of  the  pear  and 
the  apple,  may  be  dwarfed  in  this  manner ; 
and,  doubtless,  if  for  no  other  purpose,  it  is 
the  best  mode  in  which  to  cultivate  those 
large-sized  fruits  which  the  wind  so  often 
strips  prematurely  off  of  large  trees.  Such 
trees  also  come  early  into  a  bearing  state. 

Root-pruned  dwarfs  require  the  same  soil 
as  that  for  the  full-sized  trees  of  the  same 
species.  Their  distance  apart  need  not  ex- 
ceed from  eight  to  twelve  feet. 

In  heading-in  these  as  all  other  trees,  al- 
ways cut — as  we  have  before  advised — just 
above  a  wood-bud  on  the  outer  side  of  the  twig 
or  limb,  or  on  the  side  of  it  facing  the  direc- 
tion in  which  it  is  desirable  that  the  twig  or 
limb  should  extend  its  growth.  By  observing 
this  simple  direction,  a  pruning  of  which 
dwarfing  is  the  main  object,  may  also  be 
made  subservient  to  a  great  improvement  in 
the  form  and  general  appearance  of  the  tree  to 
which  it  is  applied. 

Q  uince  bottomed  Dwarf  Pears.  Grafting 
upon  the  quince  stock  is  a  deservedly  popular 


192 

mode  of  cultivating  the  pear,  in  fruit-gardens 
and  other  highly  and  carefully  cultivated 
grounds.  Nearly  all  the  class  of  Beurre,  or 
melting  pears,  succeed  in  this  way,*  and 
many  of  them  are  greatly  superior  to  what 
they  usually  are  when  raised  upon  the  pear- 
rooted  standard.  The  trees  grow  to  the 
height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet,  and  have  a  pecu- 
liar, stocky  appearance.  They  commence 
bearing  in  three  or  four  years  from  the  graft- 
ing. In  ten  or  fifteen  years  they  come  to  ma- 
turity, bearing  from  a  peck  to  a  bushel  of 
fruit.  We  have  seen  a  quince-bottomed 
dwarf-pear,  in  Col.  Wilder's  grounds,  some 
fifteen  feet  high,  that  has  several  years  borne 
about  a  barrel  oiDuchesse  d?  Angouleme  pears, 
— fruit  which  sells  readily  in  Boston  at  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  apiece. 

Quince-bottomed  pear  trees  require  a  deep, 
rich  soil,  such  as  is  suitable  for  the  quince. 
They  may  be  set  temporarily  four  or  five  feet 
apart.  In  the  course  of  some  years,  if  neces- 
sary, take  out  every  other  row,  one  or  both 

*  Almost,  if  not  quite  every  other  variety  of  the  pear  may  be 
cultivated  in  this  way,  by  what  is  called  double-working,  that  is, 
work  the  Martin  Sec,  Beurre  d'Amalis,  L.  B.  de  Jersey,  or  other 
•ariety,  on  the  (juince,  and  then,  in  another  year  or  two,  re-work 
this  graft,  with  the  kind  that  you  desire  to  grow  as  a  dwarf. 


193 

ways,  and  the  remaining  trees  may  stand 
during  their  life-time,  at  from  eight  to  ten  feet 
apart.  An  occasional  root-pruning — once  in 
three  or  four  years — has  been  found  very  ben- 
eficial to  the  quince-bottomed  pear. 

In  purchasing  quince-bottomed  dwarf- 
pears,  examine  the  quince  part  of  the  tree  to 
ascertain  whether  it  has  been  injured  by  bor- 
ers. Select  good  stocky,  low  -branching,  well- 
rooted  trees.  In  setting  out,  dig  holes  sufficient- 
ly deep  for  the  purpose,  and  set  the  whole  of 
the  quince  part  entirely  under  ground,  without 
any  regard  to  the  height  above  the  roots  at 
which  the  grafting  was  performed..  Fill  up 
the  hole  and  among  the  roots  with  rich  soil, 
and  aim  to  have  the  tree  stand,  when  the 
work  is  done,  so  that  the  point  of  union  be- 
tween the  quince  and  pear  shall  be  about  one 
inch  below  the  surface  of  the  ground, — just 
low  enough  to  hide  the  quince  from  the  borer, 
and  not  so  low  as  to  allow  the  pear  to  strike 
roots  of  its  own.  It  would  not  answer  to 
plant  high  grafted  dwarfs,  so  deeply,  were  it 
not  that  the  quince  has  an  almost  peculiar 
power  of  emitting  thrifty  roots  from  any  part 
of  its  trunk  or  limbs  when  buried  in  the  earth. 
We  have  set  many  dwarfs  in  this  way,  and 
have  never  lost  one. 


194 

The  quince-rooted  pear  enjoys  a  rich,  high- 
ly cultivated  soil,  and  is  much  less  able  to 
endure  rough  treatment  or  neglect,  than  his 
stronger-footed  brother  of  the  pear-root.  Its 
appropriate  place  is  the  garden,  where,  prop- 
erly treated,  it  is,  at  once,  one  of  the  most  or-' 
namental  and  profitable  tenants  that  can  dwell 
there.  Quince-bottomed  pears  should  be 
headed-in,  more  or  less  severely  every  year. 

Dwarf  pear-trees  whether  on  quince  or 
pear,  which  are  not  to  be  trained  to  a  wall  or 
trellis,  ought  to  be  pruned  to  a'  pyramidal  or 
conical  form.  In  order  to  this,  take  a  tree  of 
one  year's  growth  upon  the  graft.  Shorten 
back  the  leading  shoot,  nearly  or  quite  one 
half  its  length.  This  will  develope  the  desir- 
able side  branches ;  to  encourage  the  growth 
of  which  still  more,  it  is  well  to  shorten  back 
the  leading  shoot,  about  the  first  of  July. 
This  will,  about  the  middle  of  the  growth  of 
next  spring,  cause  to  start  out  another  tier  of 
branches,  a  foot  above  the  last.  The  next 
summer  in  July  the  leader  is  again  cut  back 
to  within  about  a  foot  of  the  last  tier,  which 
will  cause  the  growth  of  a  third  set,  and  this 
must  be  repeated  every  year,  till  the  tree  is 
from  six  to  ten  or  more  feet  high,  as  the  taste 


195 


of  the  cultivator  may  dictate.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  side  shoots  should  be  pruned  into 
the  desired  conical  form,  each  spring,  or,  what 
is  considered  by  some  preferable,  they  should 
be  kept  shortened:in,  by  pinching  off  their 
ends  in  the  summer.  This  is  Down  ing's 
plan,  described  almost  in  his  own  words. 
We  have  found  a  simpler  mode  of  operating 
to  answer  every  purpose — that  is,  to  shorten- 
in  the  leader  and  side  shoots,  in  the  spring  on- 
ly, of  each  year.  We  should  continue  this 
process,  as  with  the  peach,  every  year  so  long 
as  the  tree  continued  to  make  scions,  cutting 
off  from  one-fourth  to  three-fourths  of  the 
length  of  each  scion  every  year, — always 
having  an  eye  to  improve,  and  as  far  as  pos- 
sible to  render  conical  the  form  of  the  tree. 
To  this  end  we  should  as  we  have  said  be- 
fore always  cut  just  above  a  wood-bud,  on  the 
outer  side  of  a  limb  or  twig — i.  e.,  the  side 
farthest  from  the  central  parts  of  the  tree. 

From  two  to  four  feet  is  a  sufficient  length 
for  the  lowest  tier  of  branches ;  the  next  tier 
should  be  four  to  eight  inches  shorter,  and  so 
on.  Where  the  dwarf  has  not  been  pruned 
for  two  or  three  years  from  the  graft,  the  first 
heading-in  must  be  done  more  severely,  in 


1% 


order  to  get  the  tree  into  shape.     (See 
76  to  83.) 

A  somewhat  different,  but  equally  severe 
pruning  is  necessary  for  the  dwarf-pear,  when 
trained  upon  a  wall  or  espalier  rail.  In  all 
pruning,  a  skillful  operator  will  modify  the 
mode  to  suit  the  particular  cas°.  in  hand. 
Whatever  may  be  the  shape  given  to  the  tree, 
all  dwarf-pears,  (quince-bottomed  or  root- 
pruned,)  require  the  annual  heading-in  in 
some  form  or  other,  and  those  upon  pear- 
roots,  an  occasional,  if  riot  annual  root-prun- 
ing also. 

We  may  add,  by  way  of  caution,  that  the 
pear  on  quince,  is  not  a  suitable  tree  for  one 
who  has  neither  leisure  nor  taste  to  attend  to 
its  cultivation.  It  is  a  very  artificial  plant, 
and  left  entirely  to  nature's  nursing,  it  will 
soon  die,  just  as  a  Parisian  dandy  would  perish. 
were  he  suddenly  transferred  to  the  haunts 
and  habits  of  a  western  savage.  Quince-bot- 
tomed dwarf-pears,  if  they  appear  to  be  low 
in  the  ground  after  standing  some  years,  ought 
to  be  staked  and  tied,  as  they  are  sometimes 
liable  to  be  blown  over. 

For  Tables  of  Size,  Qualify  fyc.,  See 
pages  143  and  144. 


197 


ARF-PEARS 


ED 


M 
Q 

^ 

5 
o* 


IS 


M 
> 
i— ^ 

i 
2 
o 

02 


v.  cbo 
b.  tur- 
ing  ;  r 

cy  ;  B 

times 


V 

str 


ATIONS. 
FORM  —  pyr.  pyriform,  or  long  pear-shaped 
vate,  or  egg-shaped,  with  stem  in  small  end 
binate,  or  shaped  like  a  top,  as  Dearborn's 
roundish;  teg.  regular. 
REMARKS.—  P.  productive  ;  very;  J 
beautiful  ;  But.  buttery  ;  Ast.  a 
cr.  cracks. 


ABBREV 
;  2,  medium-size;  3,  small. 
ood  ;  v.  g.  very  good;  b,  best. 
;  K,  kitchen  ;  T  K,  table  and  kitchen 
January;  Feb.  February;  Jan.  Feb. 


low;  b,  brown 
the  sunny  sid 


pale 
(me 
ped. 


SIZE.—  1.  la 
QUALITY.— 
Uss.—  T,  ta 
SEASON.—  J 
both  months. 
COLOR.—  p, 
green;  r,  red 
set  ;  str.  strip 


i:i£3i 


fi 


ii  i 

0  °  C 


* 


* 


OZ 


eb    . 


•3ZIS   |  CM        —-l-i  -H-I        (NGICT^        r--i-HC«-< 


11 


®  •«  Q  »      g<u°«3S 


198 

Our  list  of  Dwarf  pears  might  easily  be 
extended — almost  to  any  limits,  indeed,  if  we 
were  to  include  those  which  require  Double- 
working. — (See  the  note  above.)  Without 
this  mode  of  double  grafting,  however,  we 
might  add  to  our  list,  Summer, — Madeleine, 
Jargonelle,  Autumn, — Napoleon.  Seckel  (bet- 
ter double- worked,)  Doyenne  Boussouck, 
Beurre  d'Anjou,  Sieulle,  Urbaniste,  and  prob- 
ably the  Dix,  as  this  makes  a  good  growth 
here  directly  on  the  quince.  Swan's  Orange 
is  well  worthy  of  trial  on  quince,  in  our 
climate.  To  those  of  Winter  we  might  annex, 
Van  Mons  Leon  Le  Clerc,  Catillac  (for  cook- 
ing;) and  for  warm,  sheltered  situations,  with 
some  hesitation,  we  venture  to  subjoin  Chau- 
montelle,  Passe  Col  mar  and  Brown  Beurre. 

SMALL  SELECT  LIST  of  quince-  rooted  Dwarf 
pears.  Summer — Summer  Franc  Real,  Bart- 
lett.  Autumn — Golden  Beurre  of  Bilboa, 
Flemish  Beauty,  St.  Michael,  Louise  Bonne 
de  Jersey,  Duchesse  d'  Angouleme,  Beurre 
Diel.  Winter — Glout  Morceau. 

STILL  SMALLER  LIST — We  recommend,  (or 
rather  humbly  submit,)  Summer — Bartlett, 
Autumn — St.  Michael,  L.  B.  de  Jersey, 
Beurre  Diel.  Winter — Glout  Morceau. 


199 


For  a  single  dwarf  tree,  we  know  no  better 
grower  than  the  fine  flavored  Louise  Bonne 
de  Jersey,  and  no  better  fruit  than  the  Saint 
Michael,  or,  as  otherwise  called,  the  White 
Doyenne.  Either  of  these  ought  to  be  satis- 
factory to  any  reasonable  man.  Should  one 
desire  both  upon  a  single  tree,  work  the  St.  M. 
upon  the  top  of  the  L.  B.  de  Jersey. 


SECTION    III. 

INSECTS,     DISEASES,    AND    REMEDIES. 

There  are  but  two  insects  that  we  have 
known  to  injure  pear  trees  in  New  England, 
although  Downing  affirms  that  the  same  in- 
sects that  infest  the  apple  do  sometimes  attack 
the  pear  also. 

1st.  The  Slug-worm.  This  insect  (Selan- 
dria  Cerasi  of  Harris,)  is  .a  kind  of  olive- 
colored  naked  snail,  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
long.  It  appears  on  the  upper  sides  of  the 
leaves,  from  June  to  August,  and  frequently 
does  serious  injury  to  young  trees,  by  preying 
upon  the  juices  of  their  leaves.  An  excellent 
way  to  kill  these  vermin  is  to  water  the 
leaves  with  the  whale-oil  soap  liquid,  de- 
scribed on  page  109.  Ashes  or  quicklime 
sprinkled  upon  them,  will  also  destroy  them. 

3d.  The  Scolytus  Pyrl  This  insect  is 
supposed  to  cause  what  is  called  the  Fire- 


201 

blight.  In  the  midst  of  the  luxuriant  growth 
of  summer,  a  limb  affected  by  this  disease 
suddenly  turns  brown  and  dies.  If  the  disor- 
der is  not  arrested  the  entire  tree  is  usually 
destroyed  by  it.  There  is  no  half-way  reme- 
dy ;  the  malady  extends  downward  from  the 
point  of  its  external  appearance,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  cut  off  the  affected  limb  imme- 
diately, at  least  a  foot  below  all  symptoms  of 
the  disease. 

Winter  Blight,  called  by  Downing,  Frozen 
sap  Blight.  This  disorder  manifests  itself  by 
the  extremities  of  the  limbs  shrivelling,  turn- 
ing black  and  dying.  Downing  attributes  the 
cause  of  this  to  the  action  of  frost  in  winter ; 
others  think  it  is  owing  to  the  strong  penetra- 
ting rays  of  the  sun  in  summer.  Trees  that 
grow  luxuriantly  in  moist  soils  in  the  nursery, 
are  the  most  subject  to  it.  We  have  rarely 
seen  a  large  tree  in  this  vicinity  affected  with 
the  disorder,  although  we  understand,  that  it 
is  almost  confined  to  large  trees  in  some  sec- 
tions of  the  country.  There  probably  may 
not  be  less  than  three  sources  of  the  pear 
blight;  an  insect  causing  the  Insect- Blight ; 
the  changes  of  winter  weather,  causing  the 
Winter-Blight ;  the  rays  of  the  sun  causing 
what  might  be  called  Sun-Blight. 


202 

* 

As  a  preventive  of  any  of  these  forms  of 
the  disease,  plant  out  the  trees,  in  dryish,  rich 
soil,  and  occasionally  root-prune  them.  As  a 
remedy,  cut  off  seasonably  the  affected  parts 
down  to  the  perfectly  healthy,  sound  wood. 

Downing  says  of  this  malady,  that  it  has, 
at  different  times,  been  "  the  terror  and  the 
despair  of  pear  growers."  The  disease  is 
irregular  both  in  the  time  and  the  manner  of 
its  attacks.  It  sometimes  destroys  only  a 
single  limb ;  at  other  times  it,  in  the  course  of 
a  few  days,  causes  the  death  of  an  entire  tree. 
In  some  sections  of  the  country  it  is  scarcely 
known  ;  in  others  its  ravages  have  been  such 
as  to  greatly  discourage  the  cultivation  of  the 
fruit.  The  disorder  has,  as  yet,  done  com- 
paratively little  mischief  in  the  New  England 
States. 


SECTION  IV. 


GATHERING   AND     RIPENING    THE     PEAR,     AND    USES 

OF   THE   FRUIT. 
/1!li   .^>i>    J&>  1 

All  our  winter  pears  (and  apples  also,)  are, 
of  necessity,  ripened  in  the  house.  Nearly  all 
summer  pears  and  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  autumn  varieties,  are  greatly  improved 
by  ripening  them  in  the  house  also.  Nor  is 
this  peculiar  to  the  pear.  Wheat  and  some 
other  grains,  gathered  at  a  particular  time 
just  before  maturity,  will  be  more  bulky, 
heavier  and  better  thab  when  left  to  get  dead 
ripe,  as  it  is  called,  in  the  field.  We  cannot 
in  this  little  work  go  into  an  investigation  of 
the  theory  of  this  process.  It  is  enough  to 
assert  the  unquestionable  fact. 

Generally,  then,  we  advise  to  take  summer 
and  early  autumn  pears  from  the  trees  just 
when  some  of  the  earlier  full-grown,  speci- 
mens begin  to  ripen.  Gather  them  carefully 
by  hand  in  a  dry  day,  spread  then  on  the 


204 

shelves  of  y  out  fruit  room,  or  upon  the  floor 
of  a  cool  dry  chamber.  Here  they  will  ripen 
by  degrees,  and  without  further  care. 

Late  autumn  and  winter  pears  should  also 
be  gathered  very  carefully  by  hand,  in  dry 
weather.  Put  them  away  very  carefully — 
so  as  not  to  bruise  or  indent  them  in  the  least — 
in  tight  clean,  wooden  boxes,  buckets  or  bar- 
rels ;*  and  keep  them  in  a  cool,  dry,  airy 
room  or  cellar,  of  which  the  temperature  shall 
be  from  about  38°  to  45°  Fahr.  Examine 
them  occasionally  and  if  they  are  sweating, 
take  them  out  carefully,  dry  them  upon  the 
floor  and  then  repack  them  as  before. 

About  ten  days  before  their  usual  time  of 
maturity,  bring  them  into  a  room  of  which 
the  temperature  is  from  60°  to  70.°  Whoev- 
er follows  the  above  directions  for  the  first 
time,  will  be  agreeably  surprised  at  the  result 
of  his  experiment.  The  Beurre  d'  Arem- 
berg  and  probably  some  others  may  be  suc- 
cessfully managed  in  the  same  way  as  winter 
apples. 

Many  pears  early  and  late  are  lost  to  their 


*  Some  advise  to  wrap  each  pear  in  soft  paper  before  putu&g 
it  into  the  boxes,  &c. 


205 

cultivators  from  an  ignorance  of  the  proper 
modes  of  ripening  them.  In  Europe,  this 
branch  of  fruit-culture  is  considered  almost  a 
science  of  itself.  Never,  therefore,  throw 
away  a  specimen,  or  re-graft  a  tree  of  a  pear 
of  doubtful  charactSr,  until  all  the  modes  of 
ripening  the  fruit  have  first  been  tried  for  at 
least  two  successive  years. 

The  Uses  of  the  Pear  are  riot  dissimilar  to 
those  of  the  apple.  It  is,  however,  much 
more  highly  esteemed  for  the  dessert,  as  the 
market  value  of  the  fruit  sufficiently  evinces. 
One  dollar  per  dozen  for  the  Duchesse  d1  An- 
gonleme  pear  is  not  an  uncommon  price  ;  and 
specimens  of  the  Beurre  Diel  have  been  re- 
tailed at  twenty-five  cents  apiece,  solely  too 
for  the  gratification,  not  of  the  eye,  but  of  the 
palate  of  the  purchaser.  For  preserving, 
baking,  stewing,  marmalades,  and  for  drying, 
it  is  extensively  in  use,  wherever  it  is  known. 
Generally,  melting  or  Beurre  pears  are  prefer- 
able for  the  dessert,  and  those  with  firm,  crisp 
breaking  flesh,  for  the  kitchen. 

The   fermented  juice  of  the  pear  is  called 

Perry.     The  process  of  preparing  this  liquor 

is  precisely  similar  to  that  of  making  cider. 

As  a  beverage  most  people  prefer  it  to  the  juice 

13 


206 

of  the  apple.  In  former  years  considerable 
quantities  of  perry  were  manufactured  in  the 
vicinity  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  and  elsewhere 
in  the  eastern  States.  Of  this  article  an  old 
English  writer  affirms,  "  Wine  made  of  the 
juice  of  the  Pear,  being  taken  in  small  quan- 
tities, cornforteth  and  Warmeth  the  stomack, 
and  causeth  good  digestion.'' 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  PEACH,  AND  THE  NECTARINE. 


SECTION    I. 

CULTIVATION,    &C. 

Choice  of  a  tree. — The  best  age  at  which 
to  plant  out  the  peach  in  an  orchard,  is  one 
year  from  the  bud  and  two  years  from  the 
seed.  Nothing  is  gained  by  purchasing  trees 
older  than  this,  unless  they  have  been  trans- 
planted once  or  t  \vice  before.  Select  a  stocky, 
rather  low  branching,  vigorous  looking  tree, 
free  from  gummy  exudations  in  every  part. 
This  gummy  matter  will  appear,  if  anywhere, 
on  the  roots,  about  the  collar,  on  the  sides  and 
in  the  forks  of  the  limbs.  The  insects,  doing 
this  mischief,  live  but  a  single  year  and  are 
easily  destroyed.  Trees  otherwise  satisfacto- 
ry ought  not,  therefore,  to  be  rejected  on  this 


208 

account  solely,  unless  they  have  suffered  quite 
severely  from  the  ravages  of  the  worm.  How- 
ever, it  is  always  preferable  to  obtain  trees 
entirely  exempt  from  this  injury. 

Dwarfs  and  Standards.  The  peach  is 
dwarfed,  by  working  it  upon  a  plum-stock. 
For  a  very  cold  climate  these  dwarfs  are  con- 
sidered more  hardy  than  standards.  They 
are  also  well  adapted  to  cold  clayey  soils, 
which  are  unfit  for  the  peach  root.  With 
these  exceptions,  dwarf  peach-trees  are  not 
valuable  to  cultivate,  unless  it  may  be  as 
curiosities. 

Soil  "  The  very  best  soil  for  the  peach, ); 
says  Downing,  "  is  a  rich,  deep  sandy  loam  ; 
next  to  this,  a  strong  mellow  loam."  Thomas 
recommends  "  a  light  soil ;"  Kenrick,  "  a  rich, 
sandy  loam."  An  extremely  rich  soil,  in  our 
cold  climate,  sometimes  imparts  too  rank  a 
growth  to  the  tree,  thereby  rendering  it  rather 
too  tender  to  brave  the  severity  of  the  winter. 

Distance.  Twelve  or  fourteen  feet  apart  is 
a  sufficient  distance  for  the  trees  of  a  New 
England  orchard.  The  trees  may  be  set  in 
rows  extending  north  and  south,  the  rows  be- 
ing twelve  to  sixteen  feet  apart,  and  the  trees 
eight  to  ten  feet  apart  in  the  rows.  This  will 


209 

often  be  found  a  convenient  arrangement 
where  the  whole  ground  is  kept  under  cul- 
tivation. 

Transplanting.  We  have  succeeded  as 
well,  transplanting  the  peach  in  the  autumn, 
as  in  the  spring.  Doing  the  work  in  autumn, 
however,  we  have  been  very  particular  to 
place  a  good-sized  conical  mound  of  soil 
around  the  tree,  as  recommended  in  section 
2d.  of  the  Chapter  on  transplanting.  Culti- 
vators generally,  in  the  northern  states,  advise 
to  transplant  the  peach,  in  the  spring;  and 
some  think  they  meet  with  better  success, 
moving  the  tree,  only  two  or  three  days  before 
its  blossoms  begin  to  open.  Little  peach  trees, 
budded  the  previous  autumn,  may  be  quite 
successfully  transplanted,  in  the  spring,  with- 
out injury  to  the  bud.  But  generally,  it  is 
better  to  wait  till  the  bud  has  had  one  year's 
growth. 

Cultivation.  The  rules  are  nearly  the  same 
as  for  the  apple  and  pear.  What  is  called 
very  high  cultivation,  as  we  have  remarked, 
is  hardly  safe  in  our  climate.  We  may,  how- 
ever, remark  that  high  cultivation  is  not  an 
offence,  often  committed  by  our  farmers  against 
the  peach,  or  any  other  fruit  tree.  The  crim- 


210 

inality  extends  mostly  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion— neglected  cultivation.  Doubtless,  this 
sin  of  omission  lieth  even  unto  the  doors  of 
ninety-nine  in  a  hundred  of  the  fruit  cultiva- 
tors, of  this  section  of  the  country. 

The  peach — perhaps  better  worked  on  plum 
stocks,  for  this  purpose — will  succeed  even  in 
a  very  cold  climate,  when  trained  upon  a 
south  wall,  and  slightly  protected  by  pine 
boughs  through  the  winter  and,  more  especial- 
ly, through  the  changeable  weather  of  early 
spring.  For  a  mode  of  training  the  peach,  in 
very  rigorous  climates,  see  the  Chapter  on 
Training. 

Pruning.  The  peach  needs  little  pruning 
except  the  shortening-in  system,  recommend- 
ed in  Sec.  1.  of  Chap.  V.  Part  1.  Any  time 
from  late  autumn  until  the  latter  part  of  April, 
cut  off  with  no  great  carefulness,  from  one- 
fourth  to  three-fourths  of  the  last  year's  growth, 
all  over  the  tree.  The  Very  best  time  perhaps 
to  do  this,  is  in  the  month  of  March.  This 
shortening-in  pruning  should  be  done  every 
year,  as  long  as  the  tree  lives,  commencing 
on  the  first  year's  growth  of  the  bud.  The 
operation  is  performed  much  more  rapidly 
than  one  would  suppose.  The  appearance. 


211 

the  health,  and  the  productiveness  of  the 
peach,  the  nectarine  and  the  apricot,  are  all 
greatly  improved  by  this  treatment. 

Insects.  The  only  insect  that  seriously  in- 
jures the  peach-tree  in  this  section  of  the 
country,  is  the  Peach- worm,  (J^geria  exitio- 
sa.)  This  insect  deposits  its  eggs  in  the 
trunk  of , the  tree,  at  the  surface  of  the  ground 
and  in  the  forks  of  the  limbs,  &c.  The  egg 
hatches  and  becomes  a  worm  of  one-fourth  to 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  length.  This 
worm  devours  the  inner  bark  and  sap-wood 
of  the  tree,  at  and  about  the  points  where  the 
eggs  are  laid.  Its  presence  may  be  known  by 
the  gum  which  exudes  from  the  bark  in  con- 
sequence. When  the  worm  gets  into  the 
forks  of  a  tree,  it  causes  the  splitting  of  the 
tree  at  those  points ;  and  unless  its  progress 
is  arrested,  it  will  sometimes  do  very  serious 
damage. 

The  preventive  against  this  insect  is  very 
simple.  It  is  only  necessary  to  put  half 
a  peck  of  ashes  or  air-slacked  lime,  close 
around  the  collar  of  the  tree,  (that  is  at  the 
surface  of  the  ground,)in  the  month  of  May, 
and  remove  it  again  in  October.  For  other 
preventives  and  the  modes  of  getting  rid  of 


212 

this  insect,  see  directions  for  destroying  the 
Borer,  in  Section  3d  of  the  Chapter  on  The 
Applet 

The  Yellows.  This  destructive  disease 
has  proved  fatal  to  whole  orchards,  in  some 
sections  of  the  country.  Its  symptoms  are, — 
1st,  a  growth  of  slender,  sickly,  wiry  shoots, 
with  small  yellowish  leaves ;  2d,  the  prema- 
ture ripening  of  the  fruit,  two  or  three  weeks 
earlier  than  its  proper  season.  This  disorder 
seems  most  disposed  to  attack  rapid  growing 
varieties.  It  is  propagated  by  planting  the 
stones  of  peaches  grown  upon  affected  trees, 
by  budding,  and  also  by  the  pruning  knife 
communicating  the  infectious  sap  from  one 
tree  to  another.  It  is  universally  believed  to 
be  a  contagious  disorder,  and  whoever  has  a 
tree  decidely  affected  with  it,  ought  to  cut 
down  and  burn  the  tree  at  once.  There  is  no 
other  sure  remedy  yet  known.  Downing 
thinks  that  those  who  have  trees  healthy  in 
this  respect,  may  keep  them  so  by  the  shorten- 
ing-in  system,  already  strongly  recommended 
for  its  other  beneficial  effects. 

Identifying  Varieties.  Different  varieties  of 
this  fruit  are  less  easily  identified  by  their 
form  and  color,  than  those  of  the  apple  and 


213 

pear.  Collateral  aid  to  this  is  derived  from 
the  size  and  color  of  the  blossoms,  and  from 
certain  marks  on  the  leaves.  There  are  three 
classes  of  peaches  in  reference  to  these  leaf 
marks. 

Class  1,  Those  whose  leaves  are  deeply 
and  doubly  serrated,  (cut  like  saw-teeth,) 
having  no  glands* 

Class  2.  Those  whose  leaves  are  crenate 
or  serrulate,  (that  is  having  smaller  rounded 
teeth,)  with  globose  (or  round)  glands. 

Class  3.  These  have  crenate  or  serrulate 
leaves  like  class  2d,  with  reniform  (kidney- 
shaped,  or  longish)  glands. 

These  marks  upon  the  leaves  of  the  peach 
are  invariable.  The  use  of  these  to  the 
cultivator  is  obvious;  for  example,  if  any  one 
should  buy  a  tree,  say  for  the  Early  Craw* 
ford  variety,  and  its  leaves  either  should  have 
no  glands  at  all,  or  have  those  which  are  reni- 
form, it  would  be  certain  that  the  the  tree  was 
not  what  it  was  purchased  for  ;  because  the 
Early  Crawford  always  has  globose  glands. 

*  The  glands  are  of  the  size  of  a  pins'  head  or  a  little  larger. 
They  are  easily  discoverable  upon  that  part  of  the  stem  of  the 
leaf  where  it  begins  to  widen  out  into  the  leaf,  and  just  beyond 
that  point,  on  the  edges  of  the  leaf. 


214 

Gathering  the  fruit.  Unlike  the  pear,  the 
peach  is  always  best,  ripened  upon  the  tree. 
Gather  and  keep  it  (if  necessary  to  keep  it,) 
in  a  cool  dry  airy  room  until  wanted. 

Uses  of  the  Fruit.  The  peach  is  one  of 
the  most  delicious  of  dessert  fruits.  In  some 
sections  of  the  country,  it  is  preserved  by  dry- 
ing. In  the  south,  it  has  been  extensively 
cultivated  for  the  pnrpose  of  distilling  its  juice 
jnto  brandy. 


SECTION  II. 


DESCRIPTIVE    LIST    OF    PEACHES. 

Fine  varieties  of  the  peach  are  often  pro*- 
duced  from  the  seed.  Hundreds  have  been 
thus  originated  and  described  by  nurserymen 
and  others  within  the  last  few  years. 

The  following  lists  comprise  those  which  we 
believe  to  be  the  best  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
those  generally  who  cultivate  this  fruit,  either 
for  their  own  tables  or  for  the  market.  The 
reputation  of  these  peaches  is  so  well  estab- 
lished, that  one  may  safely  engage  in  their 
cultivation  upon  as  large  qr  as  small  a  scale 
as  he  may  desire. 

For  Tables  of  Quality,  Size,  $*c.  $*c.,  See 
the  Preliminary  Remarks  .to  Part  II. 


216 


6  *: 


il  « 

M2  *•         - 


11   1 


fa 

O 

EH 
CC 


2  2o£«l 

£  as  0  MK  » 


W 

P 
Q^ 


8 

K 
G 


M       " 

OH          «" 


5.5 

91  ^  "* 

4>     .  ^» 

•?  -  -.5 


er|3}| 

-o^l)j3  2    . 

t*sf.|s 

5fn:.s 

tHife 

uilli 


IDF 

3  3 
£& 


is  fi  5 

PU   •=»  1-8  > 

>    a8  §>  ? 

o  s-o*  ^"i  *" 

G»«s  is 


HSX-l*       &  &   ^  &         & 


8s  ^Je  8: 


S.t9A&0[  J      -'  »  —'  »         »  -  B   «i         « 


if!:l  101:! 
i  III? 

*£*S 

>  >-.  V 


HI! 


- 
IP*    i 

• 


•OM 


fft-3    sill  '£S 

«558     2S«2     "* 
HHHCJ    OO>HO 


217 

Our  list  of  peaches  might  easily  be  extend* 
ed  to  fifty  or  more  varieties.  Were  we  to  add 
to  the  above  described  catalogue,  we  should 
select  from  among  the  following : 

Last  of  Summer— Early  Anne,  Dixie's  EIP 
reka,  Lemon  Rareripe,  &c.  Early  Autumn — - 
Cheney's  Perfection,  (W.  Co.  Seedling.) 
Bergen's  Yellow,  Red  Rareripe,  Walter's 
Early,  Early  Newington,  Large  Yellow  Me- 
locton,  Jaques  (very  large,)  Brevoort,  Belle- 
garde,  Morris's  Red,  &c.  Mid  Autumn — 
President,  Prince's  Red  Rareripe,  Kenrick's 
Heath,  Late  White,  &c. — also,  for  preserving, 
the  Blood  Clingstone,  and  (in  warm  situations) 
the  Lemon  Clingstone. 

All  the  above  described  peaches,  except  the 
latter  two,  are  freestone  varieties,  clingstone 
peaches  not  being  valuable  in  so  cold  a  climate 
as  ours. 

SELECT  LIST.  Last  of  Summer — Early 
Sweet  Water,  Cooledge's  Favorite,  George 
Fourth.  Early  Autumn—- Yellow  Rareripe, 
Crawford's  Early,  Old  Mixon  Freestone,  Yel- 
low Red  Rareripe,  Mid  Autumn— Crawford's 
Late. 

SMALLER  SELECT  LIST.    Cooledge's  Favor- 


218 

ite,  George  Fourth,  Crawford's  Early,  Craw- 
ford's Late. 

For  a  single  tree,  none  is  better  than  George 
Fourth,  or  Crawford's  Early. 

THE   NECTARINE. 

The  nectarine,  or  smooth  peach,  is  only  a 
smooth-skinned  accidental  sub-species  or  va- 
riety of  the  peach,  requiring  precisely  the 
same  cultivation  and  management  in  every 
respect.  The  fruit  of  nectarine  trees  like  that 
of  the  apricot  is  greatly  injured  by  the  Cur- 
culio.  For  preventives,  &c.  of  this  insect,  see 
the  chapters  on  The  Apricot  and  The  Plum. 

The  nectarine  is  not  a  valuable  fruit  for 
general  cultivation,  and  accordingly  we  recom- 
mend only  three  varieties  of  it,  all  freestones, 
namely,  Early  Violet,  Elruge,  and  Boston. 
The  latter  of  these  is  altogether  the  best, — 
the  tree  being  hardy  and  productive,  and  the 
fruit  very  beautiful  and  excellent. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    CHERRY. 

Choice  of  a  tree.  The  cherry  being  among 
the  handsomest  of  all  fruit  trees,  one  may  re- 
quire the  tree  which  a  nurseryman  shall  offer 
him,  to  have  a  straight  trunk  and  a  fine  synv 
metrical  top.  The"  root  also  should  be  well 
proportioned  and  sufficiently  supplied  with 
fibres. 

Dwarf  and  Standards.  The  cherry  is  but 
very  little  cultivated  in  this  country  as  a 
dwarf.  The  Mahaleb  stock,  on  which  the1 
dwarfs  are  worked,  or  the  little  bush  trees 
themselves,  may  be  had  of  the  importers. 

Standard  cherries  are  generally  worked  upon 
those  excellent  stocks,  the  Black  Mazzard  seed- 
lings. 

Soil.  Downing  recommends  a  sandy  or 
gravelly  loam.  The  trees  will  bear  quite  a 
dry  situation.  A  mixture  of  one  bushel  of 


£20 

leached  ashes  to  two  or  three  of  peat  is  an 
excellent  manure  for  the  cherry. 

Distance.  The  distance  for  cherries,  in  an 
orchard,  is  about  the  same  as  that  for  pear- 
trees,  say  eighteen  to  twenty-five  feet.  Some 
varieties  may  be  set  nearer  together  than 
others. 

Transplanting.  Two  years  from  the  bud 
is  a  sufficiently  large  size  for  setting  in  the 
orchard.  Like  those  of  the  pear,  large  cher- 
ry-trees are  not  easily  moved,  unless  they  have 
been  previously  re-set,  once  or  twice  (since 
they  were  in  the  nursery.  See  directions  al- 
ready given,  in  the  Chapter  on  Transplant- 
ing. 

Cultivation.  Follow  the  directions  in  the 
chapters  on  The  Apple  and  The  Pear. 

Pruning.  The  cherry  needs  but  very  lit- 
tle pruning,  less  than  almost  any  other  fruit- 
tree.  The  directions,  in  the  Chapter  on  The 
Apple,  may  be  followed  so  far  as  it  may  seem 
necessary  to  prune  at  all. 

Insects,  Diseases,  Remedies.  The  cherry 
in  our  climate,  is  happily  exempt  from  dis- 
eases and  the  depredations  of  insects. 

Birds  may  be  kept  from  the  fruit  by  a  cov- 


221 

ering  of  netting,   or  by   various    modes  of 
frightening  them. 

Gathering  the  Fruit.  Always  if  practica- 
ble gather  the  cherry  when  it  is  not  wet  and 
with  the  stems  attached.  If  the  fruit  is  put 
into  an  ice-box  and  cooled  before  being  brought 
to  the  table,  it  will  be  greatly  improved. 

Uses  of  the  Fruit.  The  Cherry  is  chiefly 
used  for  the  dessert ;  it  is  employed  also  in 
making  tarts,  &c. 

In  some  parts  of  Europe  both  the  tree  and 
its  fruit  have  a  use  which,  by  a  pardonable 
digression,  we  may  mention  here. 

From  Brunn  to  Olmutz,  says  Loudon,  the 
road  lies  through  an  avenue  of  cherry  trees 
for  sixty  miles  in  length .  Beneath  the  friend- ! 
ly  shade  of  these,  the  poor  pedestrian  finds 
rest  and  refreshment,  on  his  weary  journey. 
Whenever  the  proprietor  of  the  lands  through 
which  the  avenue  passes,  desires  to  reserve 
the  cherries  on  a  particular  tree,  he  has  only 
to  let  his  wishes  be  known,  by  tying  a  wisp 
of  straw  around  the  tree.  This  simple  appro- 
priating mark  affords  a  protection  to  the  fruit 
which  an  American,  whose  only  security  is  a 
faithful  watch-dog  or  strong  picket  fence, 
ought  hardly  to  be  blamed  for  envying. 
14 


222 

Downing  divides  cherry-trees  into  four 
classes,  according  to  their  forms  of  growth 
and  the  characteristics  of  their  fruits. 

Class  1.  Heart  Cherries.  These  trees 
grow  vigorous,  tall  and  upright.  The  fruit  is 
heart-shaped,  sweet,  and  tender-fleshed.  The 
Common  Mazzard  and  the  Black  Heart  are 
types  of  this  class. 

Class  2.  Bigarreau  Cherries.  —  The  trees 
and  fruit  are  the  same  as  in  class  1st,  except 
that  the  fruit  is  hard-fleshed  and  breaking,  in- 
stead of  soft.  The  Yellow  Spanish  is  a  type 
of  this  class. 

Class  3.  Duke  Cherries.  The  trees  grow 
upright  when  young  and  finally  form  round 
heads,  something  like  an  apple  tree.  The 
fruit  is  round,  tender,  juicy  and  subacid. 
The  May  Duke  is  the  type  of  this  class. 

Class  4.  Morello  Cherries.  The  trees  of 
this  class,  have  a  somewhat  low  bushy 
spreading  growth,  with  long  wiry  branches. 
The  fruit  is  the  same  as  in  class  3d,  except 
that  it  is  smaller  and  more  acid.  The  Kentish 
or  pie  cherry  is  a  type  of  this  class. 

vuro 


-xf  at 


223 


; 
r, 
V 


i 


but  not  v 
s  gradually 
V.  B.  & 
and  ex. 
large  lea 

for  mar 
rge 


. 
fruit  «x. 
bles  Morello 


herry  " 
bears  w 

rdy,  bu 
ripens  g 
,  fr»it 
rge,  B. 
y  with  l 
y  tree 
ruit 
ng,  fine 
uit  V.  l 

nd  ex. 
.  and  fr 
resembl 
t 


earliest  ch 
ome  and  bea 


t 
n 


P.  d  hard 
me.  Fruit  rip 
.  and  hardy, 
.  fruit  V.  larg 
ng  and  hardy 
he  best,  hardy 
te  and  fine  fru 
en  when  youn 
ng  and  P.  frui 
fruit 
dy,  fru 
dy  an 


V.  P.  an 

ndsom 
V.  P.  d 
V.P.  it 
stron 
of  the 


uit  B 
d  V. 

,  bu 
late 


B. 

hard 
hard 
vio 


V.  P. 

Tree 
ular 
Tree 
han 
Tree 
Tree 
Tree 
One  o 
P.  del 
V.  P. 
Tree 
V.  P. 
Tree 
Tree 
Tree 
clas 


-a    a   --•ia's-'--:«-'a 


A     fM 


titi  .  M 


•azis  | 


r-         r-.  n  -1  C*  «  »H  -I  «  i-  «  rl 


rsi;; 


1 

ii 


•«w| 


224 

We  have  deeseribed  only  fourteen  varieties 
of  the  cherry.  Those  who  wish  to  extend 
the  list  can  add  Knight's  Early  Black,  Flesh- 
colored  Bigarreau,  Davenport's  Early, Holland 
Bigarreati,  Sparhawk's  Honey,  Tradescant's 
Black,  Kentish,  Black  Morello  (for preserves,) 
&c,  &c. 

SELECT  LIST  of  six  hardy,  productive,  and 
fine  cherries  for  the  interior  of  New  England  ; 
—Early  White  Heart,  May  Duke,  Black 
Tartarean,  Black  Eagle,  Black  Heart,  Down- 
er's Late. 

SMALL,  SELECT  LIST  of  three  Varieties. 
We  say,  without  much  hesitancy,  Early 
White  Heart,  (or  for  a  very  cold  locality, 
May  Duke,)  Black  Eagle,  Downer's  Late. 

The  Black  Eagle  is  as  valuable,  for  a  sin- 
gle tree,  as  any  with  which  we  are  acquainted. 


Hi 


fcMt  fci 
sift  lo  tsJJsJ  ifft-fei  f^Jtftl  brfY      :ttt**l  yd* 


CHAPTER  V. 

to  ai  ;  '^riJoffA: 


THE  QUINCE' 


The  Quince  requires  a  deep,  rich 
soil,  not  necessarily  moist.  Downing  says 
"a  rich  mellow,  deep  soil  even  if  quite  dry," 
suits  it  admirably.  This  tree,  however,  will 
bear  a  moister  soil  than  most  other  fruit  trees. 

Distance.  Quince  trees  should  be  set  about 
eight  or  ten  feet  apart. 

Cultivation.  This  is  the  same  as  for  the 
apple  and  pear, 

Insects.  The  Quince-borer  has  the  same 
habits  as  that  of  the  apple  ;  and  yields  to  the 
same  preventives  and  destructives. 

Blight.  When  a  blight  appears  on  the 
quince  similar  to  the  Pear  Blight,  employ 
the  preventives  and  remedies  as  for  the  pear. 
See  Chapter  on  The  Pear. 

Uses.  The  Quince  is  a  Kitchen  fruit,  used 
for  preserving,  sauces,  &c. 

Varieties.  —  There  are  two  varieties  gene- 


226 

rally  cultivated  in  this  country,  —  the  Orange 
and  the  Pear.  The  latter  is  the  later  of  the 
two,  and  is  perhaps  less  valuable  than  the 
the  other. 

Another  variety,  the  Portugal  Quince,  is  of 
rather  better  quality  than  either  of  the  oth- 
ers ;  but  it  is  so  shy  of  bearing  that  it  is  little 
cultivated,  excepting  by  some  as  a  stock  on 
which  to  graft  the  pear.  Its  larger  and  strong- 
er growth  render  it  well  adapted  to  this  use. 

Propagation.  The  quince  bush  may  easi- 
ly be  raised  from  the  seed,  (See  page  58.)  But 
seedling  quinces,  like  those  of  the  apple, 
etc.,  manifest,  though  in  a  less  degree, 
that  same  disposition  to  degenerate  which 
seems  inherent  in  all  our  finer  cultivated 
fruits.  Unless,  therefore,  one  is  willing 
to  graft  his  seedling  quinces,  it  will  be 
quite  as  well  to  propagate  the  bushes,  by  the 
mode  recommended  on  page  29th. 


.tasf  efif  toi  -        i  Tsiq  orft 

%•;*         ,    xfgflLo£\;  "•>  i$J4f 
bsifi-  JitnT?  flsdoiiM  s  aii  son  i  >,  >  !<  »  $«fT    \ 
,a$  <as  -ujjsa  ^fmi 
2-4»  >!•!»"  7   ^v/J-ats      ->rfi  ~*N 


CHAPTER    VI. 


THE    PLUM. 

Choice  of  a  Tree.  A  good  plum  tree  is 
straight,  well  formed  and  entirely  free  from 
black  excrescences  on  the  trunk  and  limbs. 
It  should  be  grafted  upon  a  finely-rooted  free- 
growing  plum  stock.  Plum  as  well  as  other 
trees,  of  which  the  graft  appears  to  be  over- 
growing the  stock,  should  always  be  avoided; 
for  such  growing  trees  rarely  fail  of  disap- 
pointing the,  wishes  of  those  who  cultivate 
them. 

Standards  and  Dwarfs.  The  plum  is 
dwarfed  by  grafting  it  upon  the  Mirabelle 
plum  stock,  but  dwarf-plums  are  not  worthy 
of  cultivation  except  as  curiosities.  Standards 
are  worked  upon  strong  free  growing  English 
plum  stocks,  and  never  very  advantageously 
on  the  peach  or  the  wild  plum,  or  on  any  other 
stock. 

Soil.    Downing  recommends  "  heavy  loams 


22S 

with  considerable  mixture  of  clay."  The 
plum  does  not  do  so  well,  in  dry  soils,  as  other 
fruit-trees. 

Distance.  A  plum  orchard  may  be  set 
with  the  trees  ten  to  fifteen  feet  apart. 

Transplanting.  The  plum  is  a  tree  very 
easily  transplanted.  (See  the  Chapter  on 
Transplanting  Part  1. 

Pruning.  The  directions  are  the  same  as 
those  for  the  apple.  Unthrifty  plum  trees  are 
sometimes  benefited  by  an  occasional  appli- 
cation of  the  shortening-in  system,  recom- 
mended for  the  peach,  arid  also  for  the  dwarf- 
pear. 

Insects,  Diseases,  Remedies.  These  are 
the  Curculio  or  plum-weevil,  and  the  Black 
Excrescence.  The  Curculio  is  the  worm 
found  in  the  fruit.  It  is  of  a  dark  brown  col- 
or, and  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long.  The 
insect  at  the  season  of  laying  its  eggs,  may  be 
frightened  away,  by  frequently  shaking  it  off, 
or  even  by  persons  often  passing  close  by  the 
tree.  It  may  be  caught  by  shaking  the  tree, 
having  sheets  spread  on  the  ground  under- 
neath. Both  of  these  methods  have  been  fre- 
quently practised  with  great  success,  Letting 
swine  among  the  trees  to  devour  the  wormy 


229 

fruit  as  it  drops,  will  in  a  year  or  two  destroy 
the  whole  race  of  this  insect.  Paving  the 
ground  all  around  the  tree,  has  answered  the 
same  purpose.  About  one  quart  of  salt  should 
be  spread  around  and  under  every  plum  tree 
in  the  autumn,  to  keep  it  in  good  health. 

Black  Excrescence.  The  only  remedy  yet 
known  for  this  excrescence  is  a  severe  one, 
namely,  to  persevere  in  cutting  it  off  and 
burning  it,  whenever  and  wherever  it  appears. 
And  it  is  true  as  the  Book  of  Proverbs, — 
whoso  spareth  the  knife  in  this  work,  hateth 
his  plum  tree. 

Uses  of  the  Fruit.  These  are  similar  to 
those  of  the  cherry. 

The  Preliminary  Remarks  to  Part  II.  will 
be  generally  applicable  to  the  Plum,  although 
its  season  is  comparatively  a  short  one. 


• 

ifeWrf 


230 


i 

3 


tl! 

ill! 

m 


isa 


I     I      *  • 

i|3| 

S3  H  H 


market 
Iruit  V.  large 
oil  fruit  V.  fine 

t  exquisite 


il 
ru 


arket  fruit 
best 
ill  be«r  a  drysoil 


for 
es, 
ght 


good 
e  lea 
r  a  l 


tiful 
quite  slow 
rdy  and  P. 

s  gradually 
and  V.  P. 
and  V.  P. 
of  the  very 
ardy  tree, 


.£.3.      c-Q-j    .    .       -g_      J 

=««  ^.liiilii 

it  to    .  OJ  O2  CO  ^OJ 


"6  ----  EE 


eo   . 


•axis     —  i  —  , 


"3        £ 

C    •    -Q 


il   i 

11! 

II! 


'oa 


)  O3  O  — 


Additional  varieties  may  be  selected  from 
among  the  following: — Columbia,  Duane's 
Purple,  Yellow  Egg  (for  cooking,}  Prince's 
Yellow  Gage,  Blue  Imperatrice,  (for  preser- 
ving^) Huling's  Superb,  Purple  Favorite,  &c. 

SELECT  LIST.  Bleecker's  Gage,  Washing- 
ton, Prince's  Imperial  Gage,  Green  Gage,  Jef- 
ferson, Coe's  Golden  Drop. 

SMALLER  LIST  of  three  varieties.  We  find 
it  quite  difficult  to  make  the  selection  ^  but 
with  some  considerable  hesitation,  we  ven- 
ture to  recommend  the  Washington,  Green 
Gage,  and  Jefferson.  The  (old)  Green  Gage, 
though  quite  a  slow  growing  tree,  is  the  best 
flavored  of  all  plums. 

A  tree  of  this  is  worth  as  much  as  any  other 
single  tree,  of  which  the  reputation  is  well  es- 
tablished here.  For  a  single  tree,  in  his  lo- 
cality, Downing  prefers  the  Jefferson. 

li  •  .8$i:.if)K>  '/'«!'>•<'.  •       »'  "•    •  •  ?•'"••;!.. 

?.-j?i)  7iM7  -"fet;  v  nonrmo&  110  baftaig  od  oejii 

.     .      MSrii     !»!  ."JlMfjjBlO 


9&ttib&  m  ad  evaii  suiw  aiilj 

--.w^[-e        , 


aunt  fetoolwi  ad    «n  «•» 


woifeY  ,9i«|Wi«i 

CHAPTER    VII. 

• 

-to*          ;•>.  ,30? 

±HE    GRAPE. 


The  Grape  requires  a  deep,  rich,  fer- 
tile soil,  with  a  drainage  or  dry  sub-soil.  It 
.is  not  lost  labor  to  make  the  soil  two  or  two 
and  a  half  feet  deep,  placing  underneath  a 
drainage  of  cobble-stones  or—  what  is  very 
much  better  —  of  old  broken  bones.  Mix  with 
the  soil  the  general  manure—  see  p.  98  —  and 
add  a  small  quantity  of  lime,  ashes,  and  plas- 
ter of  Paris,—  also  bone  dust,  if  you  have  it. 

Cultivation.^-The  grape  is  raised  easily  from 
layers,  and  sometimes  from  cuttings.  It  may 
also  be  grafted  on  common  wild  vines,  (see 
Grafting.)  In  Europe,  the  grape  is  extensive- 
ly cultivated  for  making  wine.  Some  idea  of 
the  extent  of  this  cultivation  may  be  formed 
from  the  estimate,  that  500,000,000  imperial 
gallons  of  this  wine  have  been  made  in  Prance 
in  a  single  year. 


In  vineyards,  vines  may  be  planted  about 
eight  feet  apart  each  way,  and  trained  each 
one  to  a  strong  stake,  something  after  the 
manner  of  cultivating  hops.  For  training 
the  grape  upon  a  trellis,  see  page  85th. 

Pruning  and  Training. — Never,  if  avoid- 
able, touch  the  knife  to  a  grape-vine  (for 
heavy  pruning,)  except  in  late  autumn,  or  in 
the  winter  ;  for  its  appearance  and  health  are 
injured  by  the  bleeding  which  results  from 
spring  pruning.  When  your  vine  is  formed, 
according  to  the  plan  described  in  Chap.  VI.  . 
of  Part  L,  cut  down  all  the  shoots  at  the  time 
above-mentioned  to  within  two  or  three  buds 
of  the  old  or  last  year's  wood ; — Downing 
says  cut  the  shoots  down  to  within  an  inch  of 
the  shoot  from  which  they  sprung. 

This  Shortening-in,  $•£.,  (somewhat  similar 
that  of  the  peach,)  is  about  all  the  pruning 
that  our  native  out-door  grapes  require,  and 
they  often  succeed  admirably  without  any 
training  or  pruning  at  all.  Downing,  however, 
recommends  very  severe  pruning;  he  consid- 
ers a  space  eight  feet  square  to  be  as  much 
surface  as  a  native  grape  vine  ought  to  be 
allowed  to  cover.  ' 

Grafting  the  Grape.     This  has  been  done 


234 


with  good  success,  by  the  common  mode  of 
deft- grafting.  The  operation  ought  to  be 
delayed  until  the  vine  is  in  full  leaf,  the  scions 
having  been  kept  dormant  in  a  cool  cellar  un- 
til used.  (See  page  43.) 

Keeping  ^the  Grape.  Take  the  ripe  clus- 
ters when  free  from  external  moisture,  and 
pack  them  in  jars,  filling  all  the  interstices 
with  baked  saw-dust.  The  grapes  which  are 
exported  from  France  and  Spain,  are  packed 
in  this  way.  Alternate  layers  of  grapes  and 
kiln-dried  bran  would  probably  answer  equal- 
ly well. 

Grapes  have  also  been  successfully  kept  for 
several  months,  by  putting  them  in  common 
flower-pots,  and  filling  in,  under,  around  and 
above  them  with  common  fine  sand,  a  drain- 
age of  broken  earthen  or  the  like  having  first 
been  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  pot.  The 
sand  must  be  kept  moist,  and  at  a  temperature 
a  little  above  freezing. 

These  modes  of  preserving  the  grape  are 
well  worthy  of  trial ;  for,  though  not  highly 
prized  in  its  season,  the  fruit  might  be  quite  a 
luxury  at  mid-winter. 

Uses  of  the  Grape.  Our  hardy  native 
grapes  are  not  very  much  esteemed  for  the 


235 

dessert.  Good  house-keepers  make  some  use 
of  them  in  the  kitchen.  We  hope,  however, 
that  new  hybrid  seedlings  will  yet  be  raised, 
which  shall  be  far  more  valuable  than  any 
now  cultivated. 

Varieties — The  Isabella  succeeds  well,  in 
warm  situations,  in  Worcester  county ;  but 
the  best  three  grapes  that  we  know  to  be  per- 
fectly hardy  with  us,  are,  first  and  most 
valuable,  the  Blackstone  ;  second,  the  Fitch- 
burg  (both  natives  of  this  county ;)  third, 
the  Carter  (which  originated  near  Lowell.) 
In  situations  too  cold  for  the  Isabella,  there  is 
no  better  grape  to  cultivate  than  the  Black- 
stone. 

The  Catawba,  and  the  White  Sweetwater 
(or  Chasselas)  are  delicious  grapes,  They 
may  be  successfully  cultivated,  in  the  interior 
of  New  England,  by  pruning  them  heavily, 
in  November,  and  laying  them  down,  under 
a  covering  of  three  or  four  inches  of  loam  and 
straw  intermixed.  Or  they  may  be  covered 
with  a  foot  or  more  of  soil,  which  should  be 
carefully  removed,  early  in  the  spring. 

jaaJwa  »li  J»&    -too 
'lo  qoio  boos  *  gcittiwfdo 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

won 


THE  APRICOT. 


The  Apricot  would  be  a  very  desirable  tree 
to  cultivate,  were  it  not  for  the  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  obtaining  even  a  small  crop  of  its 
fruit. 

The  apricot  is  best,  worked  on  the  plum- 
stock ;  although  it  grows  well  also  on  the 
peach.  The  tree  is  of  small  growth,  and  is 
even  less  hardy  than  some  varieties  of  the 
peach.  It  requires  a  deep,  dry  soil,  and  a 
somewhat  sheltered  situation. 

The  apricot  needs  the  same  cultivation  and 
shortening-in  pruning,  which  we  have  recom- 
mended for  the  peach. 

Insects,  fyc.  The  insect  (Peach-worm) 
which  sometimes  does  so'  much  mischief 
among  peach  trees,  also  works  upon  the  apri- 
cot. But  the  greatest  obstacle  in  the  way  of 
obtaining  a  good  crop  of  the  fruit,  is  the  Cur- 
culio.  It  has  been  remarked  that  strong 


237 


offensive  odors  were  often  efficacious,  in  pre- 
venting the  approach  of  insects.  Thus  we 
have  heard  of  an  apricot's  being  protected 
from  the  curculio,  by  winding  a  small  rope 
strongly  impregnated  with  tar,  around  and  up 
through  the  trunk  and  branches  of  the  tree. 
Downing  recommends  rags-  dipped  in  coal- 
tar  to  be  hung  in  the  tree,  for  this  purpose. 
See  the  Chapter  on  The  Plum. 

Varieties  Downing  recommends  for  a 
small  garden,  the  Large  Early.  Breda,  Peach, 
arid  Moorpark. 

The  hardiest  varieties  worthy  of  cultiva- 
tion are  the  Red  Masculine,  Roman,  and 
Breda.  For  a  single  tree  the  Roman  or  the 
Red  Masculine  is  as  good  as  any. 

Y-JVV- 

tt»4  v      *.,*;$•  »*-^> 
i*^fi  /••>-.•«.•:.  V 


>  *fWi     '  ,        -« 

15 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

r 

NUTS. 

These  fruits  are  certainly  deserving  of  notice. 
Among  those  which  are  perfectly  hardy  in 
our  climate  we  enumerate  the  Shell  bark,  Oil- 
nut  or  Butternut,  Chestnut,  Black  Walnut, 
Beach  nut,  Hazle  nut,  and — what  is  not  gen- 
erally known — the  Filbert.  It  is  said  that  all 
these  nuts  may  be  propagated  by  the  ordinary 
modes  of  grafting ;  and,  doubtless,  they  are 
in  this  way  susceptible  of  as  much  improve- 
ment in  size,  flavor,  &c.,  &c.,  as  has  been 
effected  with  the  apple,  and  other  cultivated 
fruits. 

The  European  Walnut.  This  is  better 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Madeira  nut. 
The  tree  is  of  a  fine  lofty  form,  resembling 
that  of  the  common  Butternut  or  Oilnut.  It 
is  perfectly  hardy,  on  Long  Island  and  to  the 
south  of  New  York.  And,  as  far  north  as 
the  city  of  Charlestown  in  this  state,  there 


239      //    ^      °* 

may  be  seen,  in  the  enclosure  of  a  residence 
on  Harvard  street,  two  fine  trees  of  this  kind, 
either  of  them  much  taller  and  laTgerlhan 
the  largest -sized  of  our  apple-trees.  We  have 
eaten  nuts  from  these  trees,  well-ripened  and 
fully  equal  to  any  of  those  which  are  import- 
ed. The  trees  often  bear  a  crop  of  some 
bushels  of  the  fruit.  Downing  says  this  tree 
"  may,  with  due  care,  be  grafted  on  the  com- 
mon hickory  nut.5'* 

The  Filbert.  This  is  only  an  improved 
variety  of  the  common  wild  hazel  nut  of  Eu- 
rope. It  is  not  very  generally  known,  that 
this  fine  nut  may  be  easily  grown,  in  open 
culture,  in  a  suitable  soil,  here  in  the  eastern 
states. 

We  saw  fine  samples  of  the  filbert,  which 
were  grown  in  Boston,  and  exhibited  at  the 
last  Annual  Exhibition  of  the  Mass.  Horti- 
cultural Society.  From  an  Article,  on  the 
457th  page  of  the  second  volume  of  Down- 
ing's  Horticulturist,  we  learn  "that  a  filbert 
tree  (or  rather  bush,)  may  be  rendered  produc- 
tive, in  almost  as  small  a  space  as  is  occupied 
by  an  ordinary  gooseberry  or  currant  bush. 
In  fact — says  the  writer — under  favorable 

*  Ha«  it  been  *oae  ? 


240 

circumstances,  the  produce  of  these  neat 
bushes  is  astonishing."  It  is  said  that,  from 
a  single  forest  near  Recus,  in  Spain,  sixty 
thousand  bushels  of  this  nut  have  been  gath- 
ered in  a  single  year.  A  loamy  soil,  with  a 
dry  subsoil,  suits  the  plant  well.  The  bushes 
may  be  raised  best  from  suckers  or  layers,  or 
they  may  be  easily  grafted  on  the  common 
hazel  nut.  They  may  be  suffered  to  grow 
either  in  the  tree  or  the  bush  form,  probably 
the  latter  is  the  best.  They  require  the  same 
annual  pruning  and  thinning  that  is  given  to 
the  gooseberry.  "A  few  plants  of  them," 
says  Downing — "  should  have  a  place  in  all 
our  gardens."  Phillips  and  Loudon  both 
represent  this  nut  as  well  deserving  of  culti- 
vation on  account  of  the  profitable  return 
which  it  makes  for  the  labor  bestowed  upon 
it.  The  former  states  that  the  crop  of  a  sin- 
gle acre  of  filberts  has  been  sold  for  fifty 
pounds  (upwards  of  $200.) 


CHAPTER    IX 


BERRY-FRUITS. 


SECTION    I. 

THE    STRAWBERRY. 

The  strawberry  is  a  perennial  plant,  a 
native  both  of  the  old  and  th°  new  world.  It 
is  considered  by  many  the  most  delicious  and 
wholesome  of  all  berries. 


Soil.  The  best  soil  for  the  plants  is  a  deep 
rich  loam.  Two  feet  of  this  soil  will  give 
finer  plants  and  larger  crops  of  the  fruit  than 
a'depth  of  only  one  foot  would  produce. 

Specific  Manures. — Slight  intermixtures 
with  the  soil,  of  super-phosphate  of  lime, 
sulphate  of  ammonia,  guano,  bone-dust, 


242 


soot,  nitrate  of  soda,  &c.,  are  recommended 
by  English  writers ;  but  we  hardly  need  them 
in  rich  soils  here. 

Propagation.  The  varieties  of  the  straw- 
berry, excepting  the  Bush  Alpine,  *  easily 
and  rapidly  propagate  themselves  by  their 
runners.  They  thus  form  a  great  number  of 
new  plants  every  season. 

Transplanting.  The  strawberry  may  be 
transplanted  (that  is  the  new  plants  of  it,)  in 
August  and  September  ;  but  in  our  climate  it 
is  perhaps  better  to  do  this  work  in  the  spring. 
Downing  advises  to  select  the  new  plants 
from  the  runners  of  those  old  plants  which 
were  the  most  productive  the  previous  sum- 
mer. Other  plants,  however,  answer  very 
well. 

Setting  in  Rows. — For  market  cultivation 
of  the  strawberry  on  a  large  scale,  having 
prepared — trenched  or  subsoiled  and  manur- 
ed,— the  ground,  let  the  new  plants  (so  called) 
be  set  out  in  rows  three  or  three  and  a  half  feet 
apart,  and  at  any  distance  from  each  other  in 
the  row,  from  two  or  three  inches  to  as  many 
feet,  according  to  the  supply  of  the  plants. 

*  This  variety  is  increased  by  dividing  the  roots.    It  may  also 
IMJ  reproduced  by  sowing  the  seed  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe. 


243 

The  cultivation  of  the  ground  between  the 
rows,  the  first  season,  may  be  chiefly  per- 
formed with  a  horse  and  cultivator.  Keep 
the  plants  well  hoed  and  clean  of  weeds,  re- 
membering always  that  the  oftener  they  are 
cultivated  and  wed,  the  less  the  labor  will  cost ; 
for  if  the  beds  get  once  choked  with  weeds 
and  grass,  it  will  be  found  a  sorry  job  to  clean 
them  Train  the  runners  the  first  season 
lenghthwise  of  the  rows.  In  the  autumn  of 
each  year,  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  apply  a 
little  top-dressing  of  compost-manure,  leaves 
or  old  rotted  straw  to  the  beds,  in  quantities 
nearly  sufficient  to  hide  the  plants.  The  next 
season,  the  vines  will  spread  so  that  it  will 
hardly  be  practicable  to  go  among  them  with 
the  horse  and  cultivator.  The  plants,  this 
and  the  next  year,  must  be  wed  chiefly  by 
hand.  The  vines  will  bear  quite  a  moderate 
crop  the  first  season,  and  their  best  crops  du- 
ring the  second  and  third  summers  from  their 
planting  out.  On  the  third  or,  at  farthest,  on 
the  fourth  spring  after  setting  them,  dig  up  all 
the  old  plants  and  throw  them  away;  for 
their  fruit-bearing  days  are  over.  If  it  is  not 
a  particular  object  to  increase  the  number  of 
plants,  the  number  and  size  of  the  berries  may 


244 

be  increased,  by  cutting  off  the  runners  two 
or  three  times,  during  the  second  and  third 
summers  after  they  were  planted  out.*  As 
soon  as  the  blossoms  have  set  their  fruit,  it  is 
an  excellent  plan  to  carefully  weed  the  plants 
and  then  cover  the  whole  ground,  under  and 
around  the  vines,  with  a  good  quantity  of  old 
straw.  This  is  beneficial  to  the  growth  of 
the  plants,  as  a  mulching,  and  protects  the 
ripening  fruit  from  the  dirt.  The  vines  thus 
treated  need  no  further  hoeing  or  weeding,  un- 
til they  have  done  fruiting. 

An  English  writer  recommends  a  fine  sub- 
stitute for  this  common  practice.  Have  cheap 
tiles  made,  say  twelve  inches  long  and  six 
inches  wide,  with  a  semi-circular  notch  in  one 
side  of  each,  so  that  when  two  are  laid  to- 
gether there  will  be  formed  a  roupd  hole 
between  them  of  about  four  inches  diameter. 

Place  these,  instead  of  the  straw,  around 
every  bearing  plant,  so  as  to  cover  the  whole 
ground.  The  weeds  cannot  grow  under 
them,  and  they  will  keep  the  berries  clean  and 
hasten  their  maturity. 

The  cost  of  these  tiles  would  be  but  trifling 

*  This  is,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  *hortening-vn,  similar  to  that  prac- 
ticed upon  the  peach,  grape,  &c. 


and  we  think  they  would  answer  a  gooa  pur- 
pose here. 

"  To  accelerate  the  ripening  of  strawber- 
ries," says  Downing,"  it  is  only  necessary  to 
plant  the  rows  or  beds  on  the  south  side  of  a 
wall  or  tight  fence.  A  still  simpler  mode  is 
to  throw  up  a  ridge  of  earth  three  feet  high, 
running  east  and  west,  and  to  plant  it  in  rows 
on  the  south  side."  Ten  days  or  more  may 
be  gained  in  this  way  ;  and  if  later  fruit  is  de- 
sired, rows  planted  on  the  north  side  would 
probably  have  their  fruiting  retarded  nearly 
as  much. 

Cultivation  in  Alternate  Strips. — This  is  an 
easy  mode  of  renewing  the  plants,  considera- 
bly practiced  near  Boston.  On  the  third  sum- 
mer from  planting,  suffer  the  runners  to  grow 
and  root  into  the  spaces  between  the  rows. — 
(See  above,  Setting  in  Rows  ;) — then,  in  the 
fall  or  spring,  dig  up  the  old  plants  and  your 
new  rows  are  already  formed  in  what  were 
last  year  the  spaces  between  the  rows.  At 
the  end  of  three  years,  repeat  the  process  and 
so  on,  not  forgetting  to  spade  in  a  generous 
quantity  of  compost  manure  whenever  you 
dig  up  the  old  rows. 

The  Bush   Alpine.     Strawberries,  having 


246 

no  runners,  are  the  prettiest  to  cultivate  in 
hills  or  in  borders ;  and  they  produce  consid- 
erable fruit,  even  until  the  setting-in  of  the 
frosts  of  autumn. 

Some  cultivators  allow  their  vines  to  cover 
the  whole  ground  ;  others  quite  as  successful- 
ly keep  them  very  neatly  in  hills.  The  essen- 
tial requisites  are — 

1.  Selection  of  proper  varieties; 

2.  A  deep  rich  soil ; 

3.  Seasonable  destruction  of  weeds; 

4.  A  renewal  of  the  plants  once  in  three  or 
four  years. 

II.    CHARACTER    OF    STRAWBERRY    BLOSSOMS. 

There  is  another  very  important  feature,  in 
the  management  of  the  strawberry,  which 
ought  not  to  be  passed  over.  Strawberry 
plants  of  different  varieties — (some  think  even 
of  the  same  variety,) — -produce  three  kinds  of 
blossoms,  the  staminate  or  male,  the  pistillate 
or  female,  the  hermorphradite  or  perfect 
blossoms. 

The  Cincinnati  cultivators  have  practically 
proved,  that  the  former  two  varieties  produce 
their  largest  crops  when  growing  in  proximity 
to  each  other.  Thus,  in  making  a  plantation 


347 

ef  the  strawberry,  they  set  every  fourth  or 
fifth  row  with  staminate,  and  the  intermediate 
rows  with  a  pistillate  variety,  one  plant  of  the 
former  being  sufficient  to  fertilize  five  or  ten 
pistillate  plants. 

The  success  which  has  practically  attended 
this  mode  of  culture,  justifies  us  in  strongly 
recommending  it  to  all  who  raise  the  straw- 
berry either  upon  a  small  or  a  large  scale. 
We  should  prefer  this  mode  to  that  recom- 
mended by  Downing,  which  is  to  select  the 
n&w  plants,  for  forming  a  bed,  from  the  run- 
ners of  those  older  plants  which  have  distin- 
guished themselves  by  their  productiveness. 

Of  nearly  a  hundred  varieties  described  in 
the  catalogues  of  nurserymen,  we  shall  here 
recommend  only  a  very  few. 

Those  who  wish  to  cultivate  the  strawberry, 
not  for  fancy,  but  for  the  size,  beauty,  excel- 
lence and  productiveness  of  its  fruit,  cannot 
do  better,  in  our  climate^  than  to  plant  out 
first  a  row  of  the  Large  Early  Scarlet  (a 
staminate  *  variety,)  then  four  or  five  rows  of 
the  Hovetfs  Seedling  (a  pistillate  variety,) 
in  the  manner  above  described  under  Setting 
in  Roivs,  and  Character  of  Strawbei*ry  Blos- 
soms. 

*  "  Sometimes,  perfect"— Downing. 


248 

Other  fine  staminate  varieties  for  our  cli- 
mate are,  the  Old  Scarlet  (or  Early  Virginia 
Scarlet ,)  and  the  Hautbois.  Another  capital 
large  fruited  pistillate  variety  is  the  Black 
Prince.  The  Hudson's  Bay  is  a  fine,  hardy, 
rather  late  variety. 

For  perfect-blossomed  plants  there  are 
none  better  than  the  jRee?-fruited  and  White 
fruited  Alpines.  These  continue  in  bearing 
from  June  till  November.  A  large  autumn 
crop  may  be  secured,  by  cutting  oft'  the  blos- 
soms in  the  spring. 

The  Red  Wood  and  the  White  Wood  are 
also  hardy  perfect-blossomed  varieties,  ripen- 
ing their  fruits  in  July ;  they  are  well  worthy 
of  cultivation. 

The  perfect-blossomed  varieties,  of  course, 
need  no  intermingling  of  other  plants  to  ren- 
der them  fruitful. 

Gathering  the  Fruit.  Gather  the  fruit 
when  it  is  not  moist  with  dew  or  rain.  .  It  may 
be  kept  for  a  little  while,  by  placing  it  in  a 
cool  dry  room  or  in  an  ice-box. 

Uses  of  the  Fruit,  fyc.  The  strawberry 
is  a  dessert  fruit  of  the  first  rank.  It  is  some- 
times used  also  for  preserving.  Boerhave 
considered  it  a  valuable  remedy  in  cases  of 


249 

putrid  fever.  Hoffman  asserts  that  he  has 
known  consumptive  people  cured  by  the  use 
of  this  fruit. 

Eaten  plentifully  the  strawberry  averts 
rheumatic  complaints.  It  also  dissolves  the 
tartarous  incrustations  on  the  teeth.  We  are 
very  sorry  that  we  feel  obliged,  also,  to  tell  our 
cold-water  friends,  that  an  agreeable  dessert 
wine  may  be  made  from  this  exquisite  fruit. 

Downing  eulogises  the  strawberry  as  "  the 
most  delicious  and  wholesome  of  all  berries/' 
and  after  quoting  from  a  northern  bard, 

"  A  dish  of  ripe  strawberries,  smothered  in  cream," 

which  he  calls  a  perfect  pastoral  idyl  in 
itself,  he  boldly  doubts  the  existence  of  any 
individual  who  does  not  relish  the  fruit. 

The  cultivation  of  the  strawberry  for  mar- 
ket is  not  an  unprofitable  business.  Six  thou- 
sand bushels  of  the  fruit  are  annually  sold  in 
the  city  of  Cincinnati.  Some  of  the  West 
Cambridge  gardeners  have  sold  in  Boston, 
during  a  single  season,  from  $700  to  $1000 
worth  of  strawberries  from  less  than  an  acre,  of 
land! 

Size  of  the  Fruit. — The  Hovey's  Seedling 
attains,  on  an  average,  the  size  of  three  to 


250 

three  and  a  half  inches  in  circumference. 
Specimens  have  been  raised,  by  high  cultiva- 
tion and  thinning  the  fruit,  as  large  as  five  or 
even  six  inches  in  circumference. 

The  largest  Strawberry  of  which  the  writer 
has  any  information, — (See  Farmer's  Library, 
pagel$6,  Oct.  No.  of  1845.) — was  raised  in 
1845  at  Doddington  Hall  in  England.  The 
specimen  was  of  the  British  Queen  variety. 
It  was  nine  inches  in  circumference  laterally, 
and  six  inches  in  circumference  through  the 
stem  and  point, — being  about  the  size  of  a  lair 
specimen  of  the  Baldwin  apple.  This  is  a 
most  striking  exemplification  of  what  nature 
can  do,  when  assisted  by  the  cunning  inge- 
nuity of  human  skill;  for,  doubtless,  that 
which  wins  our  admiration,  in  the  Brit- 
ish Queen, — meaning,  of  course,  the  straw- 
berry,— is  the  result,  chiefly  of  cultivation 
and  assiduous  training  for  successive  years ; — • 
just  what  might  have  been  effected  with  any 
other  of  that  little  ignoble,  uncultivated  tribe, 
so  quaintly  described  by  Gerarde.^ 

*  "  Strawberries  do  grow  upon  hills  and  valleies.  likewise  in 
woods  and  other  such  places  that  bee  something  shadowie." 

HEKBALL,  p.  485. 

*>  %*?» 


SECTION    II. 

THE    CURRANT. 

The  Currant  will  grow  in  any  soil  that  will 
produce  corn  or  potatoes.  It  is  more  easily 
cultivated  than  any  other  fruit.  The  best 
mode  of  propagating  the  currant,  is  by  plant- 
ing out  cuttings  of  it,  in  the  fall,  or  quite  ear- 
ly in  the  spring.  (See  Chap.  2d,  of  Part  1.) 
It  is  well  to  procure  the  cuttings  in  the 
fall  and  keep  them  like  scions  until  spring. 

Tree  and  Bush  Currant.  By  taking  out 
all  the  eyes  of  a  cutting  except  the  three  or 
four  upper  ones,  currants  can  easily  be  kept  in 
the  form  of  little  trees.  By  leaving  all  the  buds 
on  the  cutting,  or  by  propagating  by  dividing 
the  roots,  the  plants  will  assume  quite  a  bushy 
habit.  Downing  prefers  the  tree  mode  of 
culture;  but  we  very  much  prefer  the  bush 
mode.  We  have  never  seen  tree-formed  cur- 
rants so  healthy  and  vigorous  as  those  grow- 


252 

ing  in  the  old  fashioned  way,  although  we  ad- 
mit that,  while  they  live,  they  yield  very 
large  fruit  and  appear  very  pretty.  It  is  an 
excellent  plan  to  renew  currant  bushes,  once 
in  six  or  eight  years. 

When  you  desire  extra  sized  fruit,  pinch  oft' 
the  ends  of  the  growing  shoots  about  the  20th 
of  June,  and  thin  out  the  clusters  just  as  you 
would  to  produce  the  same  result  with  the 
grape.  No  farther  treatment  is  necessary, ex- 
cept to  keep  the  ground  around  the  bushes 
well  cultivated  and  free  from  weeds,  and  to 
prune  out  the  superfluous  wood  every  winter. 

The  best  varieties  of  a  reputation  well  es- 
tablished here,  are  the  large  Red  Dutch  and 
the  large  White  Dutch.  Other  fine,  large  va- 
rieties, highly  recommended  by  those  who 
have  cultivated  them,  are  Knight's  Early  Red. 
Knight's  large  Red,  and  the  Victoria  (a  very 
large,  fine  currant.)  These  are  nearly  twice 
the  size  of  the  common  red  and  white  currants 
and  are  in  every  respect  superior  to  them. 

Of  Black  Currants,  the  Black  Grape  is  one 
of  the  best.  People  who  have  acquired  a 
fondness  for  this  species  of  the  currant,  often 
place  a  high  value  upon  it. 

Uses  of  the  Currant.    The  currant,  stewed 


253 
.in     tfOlTDMH 

while  yet  green,  is  an  excellent  article  for 
tarts,  sauces,  pies,  &c.  As  a  dessert,  the  white 
varieties  being  less  acid  are  preferred  by  most 
people.  The  white  and  red  kinds  are  very 
pretty,  when  mixed  together  upon  a  glass  dish 
or  salver.  Wine  is  also  made  from  the  cur- 
rant ;  and  frequently  this  is  a  no  contemptible 
beverage.  Fine  jellies  are  made  both  of  the 
red  and  the  white  varieties.  When  white 
currants  are  to  be  made  into  jellies,  use  the 
whitest  suarar  that  can  be  obtained. 


•:•:«   fm*  iijgil  Jimi^p  oj  */•  &   .^nint/vj  g 
-isd  i>d|  ..iiafl'W  Jtwlq  orfi  loJb^ad^d)  rfg0otrf 

VftWA  'ffi^fil  JfJO  DQddl  «l    J38         ' 


^untn  L«J;  . 
'•*- 

'•^  •-•       : 


^ 


SECTION    III. 

THE    GOOSEBERRY. 

The  Gooseberry  requires  a  deep,  strong 
rich  soil.  It  is  propagated  precisely  in  the 
same  way  as  the  currant.  The  ^ree-gooseber- 
ry  succeeds  better  than  the  tree  currant,  and 
nearly  as  well  as  the  bush  form  of  the  plant. 
The  plants  should  also  be  renewed,  as  direct- 
ed for  the  currant.  The  uses  of  the  gooseber- 
ry are  the  same  as  of  that  fruit. 

Pruning.  One  half  of  the  top  of  a  goose- 
berry bush,  should  be  thinned  out  at  the  win- 
ter pruning,  so  as  to  admit  light  and  air 
through  the  head  of  the  plant.  When  the  ber- 
ries are  fairly  set,  thin  them  out,  taking  away 
one  half  or  more  of  them,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  rest. 

Mildew.  The  best  preventive  and  remedy 
for  this,  is  to  keep  the  plants  well  manured 
and  pruned  every  year. 

The  following  varieties  are  recommended 
by  Downing  and  others  :  Red — Keen's  Seed- 
ling, Crown  Bob,  &c. ;  White— Early  White, 
White  Honey.  &c. ;  Yellow— -Yellow  Ball, 
&c. ;  Green — Green  Walnut.  Pitmaston, 
Green  Gage,  &c. 


}i  nod  W 
SECTION    IV. 


S  t  X 

THE     RASPBERRY. 

•»ium^o  nl     .Jkiii  srfjlo  \k|qw«  /j  furnrlnoo  e« 

The  Raspberry  is  indigenous  both  in  Eu- 
rope and  America. 

Soil.  Downing  recommends  "  a  deep  rich 
loam,  rather  moist  than  dry."  Kenrick  says 
"  a  moist  rich  soil."  Thomas  recommends 
the  same,  with  "  an  admixture  of  swamp 
muck." 

Cultivation.  The  raspberry  is  universal- 
ly propagated  by  suckers  or  offsets  from  the 
main  roots.  A  few  varieties  are  raised  by 
means  of  layers.  They  need  the  same  cul- 
tivation as  the  currant. 

Pruning.  All  dead  wood  and  the  smaller 
sterns  should  be  cut  away,  in  the  spring,  even 
with  the  ground.  Four  or  five  shoots  should 
be  left,  and  tied  to  a  stake,  the  tops  having 
about  on£  foot  of  their  upper  extremities 
headed  off.  Set  the  plants  in  rows,  three  or 


256 

four  feet  apart  each  way.  The  raspberry 
plant  is  in  perfection,  when  it  is  three  years 
old.  When  it  is  about  six  years  old,  it  should 
be  dug  up  and  a  new  plantation  made,  on  a 
piece  of  ground  where  the  plant  has  not  re- 
cently grown  before.  It  is  an  excellent  mode 
to  make  a  small  plantation  every  year,  so  as 
to  continue  a  supply  of  the  fruit.  In  extreme 
cold  latitudes,  it  is  necessary  to  bend  the 
plants  down  and  cover  them  with  earth  or 
straw  through  the  winter. 

Varieties.  White  Antwerp,  Red  Antwerp, 
FastolfF,  and  Franconia  are  the  best  for  New 
England  ;  the  latter  is  the  hardiest. 

Uses.  The  fruit  has  the  same  uses  as  the 
currant. 

Plantations  of  the  Raspberry  for  the  supply 
of  the  market,  have  been  made  almost  as 
profitable  as  those  of  the  strawberry.  This 
fruit  like  the  strawberry,  is  also  wonderfully 
susceptible  of  improvement  by  cultivation. 


hfwoife 

aqol  ari 

,  *sqq«   "*''*&    -f>   '   ^  *«^,  mod* 
TO  99«ll  .irwot  lii  alttfif    *rf?  j?»3      .Tto  ^ife^^ 


\ 


YB  47603 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


WORCESTER  BOOKSTORE, 

96    MAIN   STREET, 
WORCESTER,   3XASS. 

ERASTUS    N.    TUCKER. 

Publisher,  Bookseller,  and  Stationer, 

[SUCCESSOR  TO  CLARENDON  HARRIS,] 


HAS  FOH    SALE 


MISCELLANEOUS,    CLASSICAL, 


OF   ALL   THE   MOST   APPROVED   KINDS. 

Particular  attention  paid  to  keeping  always  on  hand  a  Very 
compl  ent  of 

SCHOOL,    AIVD    FAWCY 


BLANK    BOOKS, 
Agricultural  &  Horticultural  Books  &c. 

Paper  Kuled  to   Pattern, 

AND  BLANK  BOOKS  MANUFACTURED  AT  SHORT 
Notice,  of  Superior  Paper,  and  Bound  in  the  most  dura- 
ble manner. 

ALL  KINDS    OF    BLANKS    IN 

common  use,  and  of  good  Paper. 

PAPER  OP  ALL  DESCRIPTIONS. 

ENAMELLED,  PORCELAIN  AND  PEARL  SURFACE 
CARDS. 


